Nothing Ventured
by Akarri
Summary: No one told Roy that being a renowned state alchemist and colonel in the military would be easy, especially while trying to attend every one of his two adopted sons' soccer games. Modern!au, parental!Roy/EdAl
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I return with a modern au! This is a little different than what I'm used to, but no worries; I'm still going to have fun with it. ;) (Meaning this won't just be a bunch of soccer.)**  
**I'll aim to post once a week for now, but I don't have a whole lot already written, so... we'll see how that goes.**

* * *

The air was fresh that early Saturday afternoon, and the sun beat down strongly enough for it to be slightly too hot, but not enough so that complaining was justified. The freshly mowed lawn was littered with people, some standing impatiently within the designation lines of the soccer field, while others sat and stood along the sidelines, watching with varying degrees of interest.

Some were barely paying attention, but as far as Roy was concerned, it was a battlefield out there. He stood by the side as a simple spectator, but even from that distance, he could pick up on the intensity that radiated around the field.

A whistle was blown and cued a flurry of movement as the kids sporting two different colors clashed in the center. The black and white soccer bell went flying into the air as some chased it and others stayed behind at strategically designed distances. One particular blond in a red uniform charged through the field, swiftly avoiding the purple clad opponents until he reached the ball and immediately kicked it away to another teammate, effectively removing it from the center of the chaos.

Roy's attention was far more wrapped than he would later care to admit, idly surprised by his own interest yet again in the back of his mind. Even after he signed the adoption papers, he never thought he would feel so invested in a children's soccer game.

His eyes jumped to the others in red from time to time when either side closed in on a goal, but for the most part, his focus remained primarily locked on the two kids he had been able to call his own for only a few months now.

Edward had claimed an offensive position on the team almost immediately after joining, as he was naturally drawn into the thick of the action and overly eager to run into enemy territory. Alphonse on the other hand was further back, taking up the place of a midfielder. He has a knack for support, constantly willing and able to assist whoever would need him- whether it be back by their goal, or in the middle of the field. The two siblings both took up the center-most positions in their respective areas, acting as a deadly combination due to their excellent teamwork. The coach noticed this early on, and was smart to make use of it.

The game was nearing halftime and the purple team was one point ahead, thanks to either sheer luck or a bribed referee. Roy had to hold himself back from yelling out loud when a defender was purposefully tripped just before the point was scored, silently chiding himself for getting a little too heated.

The minutes ticked on as he was absorbed in the quick-footed movements on the players, watching with bated breath as the offenders of the purple team stretched too far into the red's territory for comfort, kicking the ball back and forth between each other as the defenders and midfielders raced to keep up and blockade their movement.

Roy wasn't sure about anyone else, but he could almost sense the countdown nearing halftime as they neared closer and closer to the goal. If the team were to get behind by not just one point, but two, it would be near impossible to recover.

The purple team had their defenses stretched thin with the bulk of their numbers gathered on the opposite side of the field in a play to overpower the red team. Roy realized their intentions, but with no way to psychically communicate that to the players, he was left to stand hopelessly on the sidelines, reminding him that he was merely watching the show.

The red goalie had been led to one side of the field, expecting an attack from that angle. But before the kid was given time to react, the ball was kicked through the crowd of red and into the grasp of a single enemy who had split himself off from the center of the action. The offender in the purple jersey slammed his foot into the side of the ball and it went flying, gathering a few inches of air as it aimed for the open goal.

But before it got far, Alphonse had intercepted it with his shin and kicked it away before he could expect any advances, straight back into enemy territory where Edward and two others were waiting. As if he had seen the entire play beforehand, the older blond easily fell into step with the ball, guiding it along as defenders scurried after him

But by then, it was too late, Roy realized as he failed to keep the prideful smirk from slipping onto his face.

Ed had reared past the majority of the purple-clad team and was left with only the goalie to stand in his way. While Roy couldn't see from his distance, he was willing to bet that the enemy was growing nervous, daunted by Edward's infamous comportment that seemed to clearly state a challenge whenever he got invested in something.

With the seconds drawling on and the others charging to catch up, Edward ran up close and personal, forcing the goalie to face him head on. In one fluid motion, he kicked the soccer ball in such a way that it rose into the air and off to the side, far out of the goalie's immediate range.

The ball collided into the net with a satisfying swoosh, seconds before a whistle was blown to signify halftime.

The red team, especially Ed, threw their balled fists into the air, cheering while the opposing team slumped their shoulders and glared as they all returned to the sidelines. The friends and family members who spectated copied their respected sides. Roy joined in the celebration, growing more enthusiastic with every game he went to.

The cheering soon died down and faded into mingling conversation as a flock of red converged to the sidelines. Roy drew his eyes away from the field to watch as the other adults began to open their coolers and pull out water bottles and snacks for the kids, the natural smile still sitting easily on his visage.

"Dad!" Roy blinked and turned his head, not quite responding to, but rather reacting to the familiar voice just as a small blond figure plowed into him. A muffled, surprised grunt forced its way through his lips as two arms wrapped around his waist. "Did you see that? Were you watching?" Al asked eagerly as he beamed up at the man.

"Of course I did," he replied, returning the hug without hesitation, which he considered to be an accomplishment. Alphonse had opened up to him much quicker than his older brother, and never bothered hiding the fact that he enjoyed that physical contact. Roy, on the other hand, had to just get used to it, lest he discourage something so innocent and, in a way, necessary. "You did great," he added as his smile widened slightly.

Alphonse pulled away and wiped at the sheen of sweat on his forehead, breathing though his grin. "Thanks!"

"Water?" Roy asked as knelt beside the cooler that he was obligated to buy for these events, and began to shift through it.

"Yes please," the kid responded thankfully as his panting began to settle.

He handed a plastic bottle to Alphonse, who accepted it gratefully, and Roy grabbed another for the other blond who he knew would be joining them soon. Before he could turn around to sweep the area in search of said kid, Edward more or less appeared between the two, wordlessly swiping the bottle that was held loosely in Roy's hand. He twisted the cap and tilted his head back, gulping the water down until he emptied half of it, then lowered the bottle again with a satisfied exhale.

Ed kept his eyes closed, holding onto the bottle absently as if he was focusing primarily on his breathing until it slowed until a more normal pace. Meanwhile, Al continued to drink his own without the risk of choking himself, unlike his brother's charming display.

The two looked natural in their red uniforms, Roy thought passively for not the first time. The jerseys were lined in a gold trim that nearly matched their hair and eyes, as if the outfits were made for them. While it shouldn't really matter to Roy, he was glad they ended up with such a complementary color, instead of a gaudy neon green or something equally as lurid. He never made a point to dress in their colors when attending games, but he was certainly not against it, even though red wasn't his first choice.

After a moment, Edward returned to chugging down the water and tossing the plastic battle back towards the open cooler once it was emptied. Roy subconsciously gave him a faint look, contemplating if it would be smart keep his mouth shut. It wasn't like there were any trashcans in arms' reach anyway. And what would he say? _Don't put things back where you got them?_ Roy wasn't eager to give the older kid more words to twist.

"You're welcome," he said casually, knowing how much Ed _loved_ his sarcasm. He tried to hold it back when the two first moved in, but the blond made it surprisingly difficult to do, especially when the feeling was mutual.

Alphonse giggled at the pointed look his brother gave the man in return.

"You two hungry? I think I saw someone handing out oranges," Roy mused as he turned to glance around the row of chatting parents.

"Nah, I'm fine," Ed replied without giving it a moment of thought.

"You sure? It'll help keep your energy up."

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea, Brother," Alphonse pitched in, eyes locked on him expectantly, almost with a plea in his tone.

Edward glanced and Al for no more than a second before shrugging. "Alright, if you think so," he relented indifferently.

The younger brother beamed and turned to find the lady who brought the oranges. After a moment, he pointed her out; a woman probably in her forties with short dark blonde hair, holding a plastic bag filled with peeled oranges, and surrounded by a flock of excitable red uniformed kids. What was her name again? Molly? Holly?

"Let me know if you want more water," he called after them without much thought.

"Thanks, Dad!" Alphonse replied cheerfully.

"Yeah, thanks, Roy," Edward followed up, tone all too casual.

He barely withheld a sigh as the two bounded off.

Ed had been calling him by his first name for four months now, but given the circumstances, he couldn't blame him. Back when they first met at the orphanage, both kids used his last name or his rank. Since they now shared the name, sticking with that was out of the question.

Ordinarily, he wouldn't have thought much by it, but it was strange to compare the two brothers at times. Alphonse latched onto using the title of _dad_ almost immediately after the papers were processed, eager to finally have someone to fill that vital role. Edward on the other hand, was the complete opposite, going so far as to avoid the term as much as possible. Roy was well aware that the older blond could appear distant to anyone but his brother at times, but knew there was no resentment there. They all agreed to the arrangement after all, but Ed had no desire to refer to him as something quite so paternal.

It was fair, considering his real father walked out on the family not long before their mother died of an illness, too long ago for Alphonse to remember very well. Unwilling to replace the mother, and resentful of the father, Roy claimed an entire different role for him. Something of a caregiver, but without any more specifications than that.

"Excuse me." A voice broke through his mulling, helping him to realize he had been staring into space. He blinked at the source, a thirty-something year old woman with long brown hair and an amiable uncertainty in her eyes. He recognized her as the newest member of the unofficial soccer parent club, which was about ninety-five percent moms, and five percent him. From the gossip he had overheard, her day job took up most of the weekends, allowing her little time to attend games until recently.

"The taller one is yours, right? They looked so similar, I thought they were brothers," she began with a small smile.

He heard himself chuckle in response as he recognized the familiar situation. "They are brothers. The older one- Edward- he's still not quite used to it yet," he explained, purposefully vague. There was no point in explaining that they were adopted, since anyone with eyes would see he and the two kids looked nothing alike.

"Oh. _Oh_, he was older than the other?" she asked herself, glancing back at the two blonds as they stood further off, chatting jovially with their teammates.

"I know, it's hard to believe," he replied smoothing, already hearing the kid's fiery screams of denial in the back of his head.

The conversation trailed off as some of the other parents distracted the woman before he could politely ask for her name. _Next time_, he shrugged indifferently as his eyes wandered aimlessly across the mostly-empty field.

"I hear he's a colonel in the military," a hushed voice said nearby. Roy glanced in that direction in the corner of his eye to see the lady he was just speaking to had been wrapped up in a discussion with two other moms, who just so happened to be infamous gossips.

He withheld a smirk and casually averted his gaze, silently tuning into their voices.

"What?" he heard the younger of them gasp and felt her eyes on him for a moment.

"_And_ he's unmarried." There was something careful in her tone, verging on judgmental.

"How does he have time to take care of two boys and work such a dangerous job?"

"No one knows," the third spoke up. "He adopted them not long before the season started. It's too soon to tell how long he can keep this up."

A few seconds of silence passed, allowing him to safely assume they were eyeing him over.

"Well he seems to be doing just fine so far."

Their gossiping came to an abrupt halt when the team of red-clad children huddled together around the coach on command, then flocked out across the field only a moment later, followed by the opposing team. Roy's eyes bounced from each figure until he found the two blonds jogging next to each other, sharing a few terse words, before splitting off to return to their designated positions.

Roy thought he could hear the other ladies continuing their chattering a little way off, but his attention had been wrapped by the game before it could even begin.

With a score of one to one, he was eager to see how it would play out.

Within minutes after halftime, he would already dare say that the second portion of the game was better than the first. Both teams had been rushing with adrenaline, determined to break the tie before time ran out. So much hung in the balance for those children; each step- every play- everything they did was vital to their loss or victory. It must have felt like so much was on the line for them, and they all behaved accordingly.

An intense game of soccer was probably the closest any of them would get to experiencing anything remotely similar to war. Roy dearly hoped it would remain that way, he thought for a fraction of a second before banishing the concept to focus on the game.

No need to get so grim. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, he wasn't miles behind on his paperwork for once, and he was spending the day watching a game and being able to enjoy seeing Ed and Al- _his sons_\- kick the other team's ass.

It was still so strange for him to think that all of this came to be because of an act of self-convenience and charity. But after all was said and done, after all the time that had passed, it still felt so surreal when Roy's train of thought endlessly cycled back to the fact that he was a parent. He never thought it would happen, and especially not the way it did.

He would be lying if he said he never had any doubts in his ability or the decision itself. It took some time to convince himself that despite his past, he was still capable of giving them a good life and doing whatever he could to be a role model, even if it took the boys yelling at him to stop being an idiot in order to finally get it.

The game was at a stalemate in the center of the field, with the ball constantly being intercepted and redirected, over and over again. For several long seconds, it was impossible to discern which side would slip up first. But at last, the ball slid past one of the purple team's offenders, just narrowly missing the kid's foot and flying towards a red offender, who guided the ball further away from the chaos. Edward and the other offender followed as backup, both intercepting the purple team's defenders from getting in the way of the ball. The opposing team's defenses were compromised with relative ease this time around, and the ball was kicked into their net, followed by an eruption of cheers.

With moral overflowing, they continued on steadily, with the red team gaining more and more of an advantage. The opposing team was split between being encouraged by the daunting prospect of defeat, and losing motivation completely.

Several minutes later, another point was scored for the red team and victory became imminent.

The opponents fought back as much as they could, nearing the other end of the field and getting very close to scoring a goal. But the remaining minutes passed quickly; the whistle was blown yet again and the victor was clear. The red team jumped and cheered, high fiving each other in the field and waving to the excited spectators. Meanwhile, the other team clapped politely with far less excitement.

The spectators that bordered the field slowly began to pack up their things as others offered more snacks and drinks to the kids who eventually made their way over. The energetic, celebratory buzz became familiar to Roy with the more games that he attended.

He followed the others lead and pulled out more water for the kids once he saw them steadily making their way back over to him, being stopped by a teammate every few seconds.

"Good job, you two," he greeted with a soft smile as Ed and Al returned, both panting warily with prideful grins stretched across their faces.

They thanked him in unison and accepted the bottles of water. Only a few seconds of silence passed between the three as they focused on rehydrating themselves, but moments later, the kids were ranting excitably about key moments in the game. Roy mostly stayed out of it, preferring to simply watch and listen, primarily because he realized he had nothing to add once they started talking about the moves of their teammates. He hadn't paid any attention to them, and still didn't really know the other kids' names, besides sensing some familiarity when they were brought up more than once between the two.

After a few minutes, the field began to clear and families were leaving to their cars, with some still mulling about. Roy opened his mouth to announce that they should probably get going, but his eyes caught the team's coach approaching them.

"Hey Roy!" the man greeted with an amiable wave. The coach, Andrew Mercer, was maybe a few years older than the colonel and had shortly cut dark brown hair with soft hazel eyes. He had a trusting quality about him that had the kid's immediately liking him. From what Roy gathered, he began coaching when his own son joined the league, but continued on even as the kid grew out of it. He seemed to have a great love of the sport and was very helpful with integrating Ed and Al into the team.

"Hello, Andrew," Roy replied with an easy smile. "That was quite the game."

The older man expelled a hearty laugh and dropped his attention down to the two blonds. "Yes, it was! You boys did great, as always."

"Thanks, Coach!" Al grinned as Ed nodded, still downing the bottle of water.

"I suppose you three are going home to celebrate the win, huh?" Andrew asked with a smile as he glanced between them.

Roy nodded, suddenly feeling two pairs of golden eyes fall on him expectantly. He was almost afraid to look down at them. "I suppose so," he answered casually.

"Then I'll leave you to it. See you all next Monday for practice," Coach Mercer exclaimed cheerfully and walked off with a wave, which to two kids returned.

"Well, we better get going too," he announced and turned to start walking towards the parking lot without giving it much thought, searching for his black sedan.

The blonds began whispering to each other as they followed behind, but Roy thought nothing of it, having grown quite accustomed to the feeling that they were constantly plotting something behind his back.

"Hey Roy," Edward began abruptly as they reached the car a moment after their murmuring quieted down.

"Yes?"

"Ice cream."

"What?" Roy spun around just as they reached his car to face the two standing side-by-side with an alarming amount of determination in their eyes.

"Coach Mercer suggested we should celebrate," Alphonse said as if he was simply catching Roy up on something he had missed. "So, let's get ice cream!"

And then the two boys began to chant in unison before Roy had any hope of uttering a response, balling their fists in the air. "Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream," over and over again until finally he managed to string together some words.

"You two just spent all day running around, eating healthy snacks, and now you want to ruin it with _ice cream_? Doesn't that sound a little counter-productive?"

Long before the colonel had adopted the two, he had quickly learned that they were brilliant. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that they were fully capable of somehow convincing everyone within earshot that there was some miraculous benefit to ice cream after a two hour soccer game. And yet, in spite of everything, they only stared back at him, expressions unchanging from that same hopeful intensity, and continued the chant "ice cream, ice cream, ice cream" until he simply had no choice but to give in.

"Alright, _alright,_ but don't expect this every time you win a game," he announced, giving the two blonds a pointed look as he unlocked his car and climbed inside. He watched with a mock pout through the glass as they highfived each other in a subdued cheer and followed into the back seat.

* * *

The black car backed out of its parking spot alongside the field and began to turn out of the lot, with its passengers completely unaware of the pair of dark eyes that watched from a safe distance. Every Saturday, every other weekday, same time, same place.

The same group.

Each parent and each child; he watched and he waited.


	2. Chapter 2

"I really don't see what the difference is," Roy breathed wearily.

"How could you not get it?" Edward responded, exasperated as if he had more of a right to be getting fed up than his guardian did at the moment. "They're completely different!"

"They're the _same_." Roy wasn't sure why he kept going. He knew there was no winning when Ed got this riled up, and yet he tried anyway, continuing to invite the headache upon himself.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Ed snapped from the kitchen counter. "Frozen macaroni is indisputably different than the macaroni that comes in the box!"

"Macaroni is macaroni."

"They're entirely different things," Ed shot back again.

"If we were talking about frozen macaroni verses _homemade_ macaroni, then I'd agree with you. But anything that takes less than ten minutes to make is not worth comparing."

"Like you're one to talk!"

"Brother, calm down," Alphonse sighed, remaining primarily silent during the semi-heated exchange. He was obviously not taking Ed's apparent frustration very seriously, given the topic.

"But you agree with me, don't you? Ed asked suddenly, snapping his attention over to Al.

"Uh- yes, but they're both good, so-"

"It's not that simple!" Edward more or less screeched, melodramatically slamming a fist down on the counter. In response, Alphonse sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"Hey Ed?" Roy breathed as he idly stirred the pot.

"What?"

"Relax."

Just as predicted, the shorter blond slumped in his chair with his arms folded and a pout smeared across his face. Roy only rolled his eyes and continued his mundane task.

He was silently scolding himself for cooking cheap macaroni for them the night after their latest soccer game, but god, they could get so insistent. He tried to make actually decent meals on the weekends, since he scarcely had the time and energy during the week, but he could only do so much. Plus, even after so many weeks, his cooking skills still had much room for improvement.

Roy was well aware that they wouldn't shrivel up and die just because he let them stuff themselves with ice cream and macaroni. Hell, he probably ate much worse as a kid. But even so, he was constantly telling himself to do better- to _be_ better. If he didn't give it his all, then he could never justify calling himself their father.

Still, the word felt so strange to him.

The colonel smiled grimly towards the pot of macaroni, wondering yet again if that sensation would ever fade.

With a soundless exhale, Roy wiped the dour expression from his face as he grabbed three bowls and began to fill them with the cheesy pasta, noting how the two sets of eyes locked onto his back excitedly. He turned and set two bowls before the kids, then went to prepare his own.

But with his back turned again, he noticed that they didn't immediately begin to dig in. Instead, he heard some brief murmuring.

"Uh hey dad!" Al began eagerly, causing Roy to turn to the two skeptically. "Can we watch TV as we eat?"

"Really?" Roy heard his nonplussed tone before the request fully registered. "You two have been making a lot of requests lately."

But instead of giving a response, they continued to stare hopefully up at him. "Please?"

Well, he knew where this was going. No point in drawing it out. He didn't want to encourage poor habits, but it was a weekend… "Alright, fine," he answered, but they were already scurrying into the living room with dinner in hand before he could so much as finish his statement.

One glance into the living room once the clamor of the television filled the air proved that Roy was much safer staying in the kitchen for the time being, lest he be forced to watch their brainless cartoons. But if his experience was enough to go by, all he had to do was wait half an hour and they would surely change it to the science channel or something.

He wasn't aware kids were into that these days; but then again, those two seemed to be an exception to several stereotypes.

With his bowl of macaroni, Roy sat down at the kitchen table and pulled over the newspaper that had been waiting there since that morning, and proceeded to absently flip through it as he ate.

If nothing else, it was a decent time killer. Nothing in the paper particularly stood out, primarily because it was his job to know at least half of everything that was written. And the other half wasn't all too interesting.

He had finished eating long before nearing the end of the pages. But as he reached the last few uninteresting segments, his cell phone chimed to life. The colonel quickly rose from the table and swiped his phone from the counter where he had left it, and glanced at the caller ID.

He somehow withheld a groan as he held the device up to his ear.

"Hello Hughes," he greeted politely, inwardly prepping himself for the excited explosion that would surely come from the other end.

_"_Hey Roy! How've you been?" his friend replied with far too much energy for the time of day.

"Since we last spoke yesterday, I've been fine," he replied flatly.

"That's great! Hey, I've been thinking-"

_Here it comes._

"How would you and the boys like to come over next week for dinner? Gracia's cooking! And you know how her food is the best in the whole world!"

"I don't know, Hughes; we're all pretty busy."

"Oh, I know that's not true," the other man remarked with a smug satisfaction in his voice. "Besides, I bet those kids don't get out much."

"They get out enough, thank you," he huffed stubbornly. "Nearly every day, since they joined that soccer team."

"Ah, the soccer team: the greatest decision ever made during Roy Mustang's career as a parent."

"Ha, ha."

"Just come over, Roy," he tried again, dropping some of the blinding energy from his tone. "Besides, Elicia wants to see you too; it's been a while. If you keep this up, she's gonna get jealous of Ed and Al. And we don't want any family feuds now."

"Alright, alright, fine," he drawled, steadily losing the will to fight this downhill battle. "What time?"

"Please report at the designated location next Saturday at seventeen hundred hours."

"Alright," Roy responded flatly, refusing to even comment on his friend's shenanigans.

"You're no fun," he heard the lieutenant colonel mumble with tacit grin, before continuing on in a neutral tone: "Great, I'll let the girls know to expect you. See you Monday!"

Roy habitually bid his friend a good night and hung up his phone, eyes naturally falling towards the living room that was lit purely by the television. He drummed his fingers on the countertop in thought for a moment before decisively picking up his now empty bowl to bring to the dishwasher.

Surreptitiously peeking into the next room over proved that they had indeed changed the channel to some kind of historic documentary, meaning it was safe to enter. He lingered in the doorway for a moment, entirely unnoticed as the two kids had their eyes glued to the TV, their empty bowls left forgotten on the coffee table. Unbidden, he walked in, crossing their field of vision to reach the armchair that sat diagonal to the couch that the blonds occupied.

He studied them for a moment, idly wondered if they had noticed his presence. When half a minute passed without so much as a glance, he finally turned his attention to the documentary, only then realizing that it was talking about lost artifacts being found deep in the ocean. Being born in a landlocked nation, it was so wonder they were so invested.

It was many more minutes until a commercial break, in which Roy took quick advantage of.

"Hughes called," he said simply, pausing for a beat to ensure that they both glanced over to him. "He invited us over for dinner next weekend."

The reaction was instantaneous. Alphonse beamed and sat up a little straighter, clearly giving Roy his full attention. Edward's reaction on the other hand was far more subdued; he merely tilted his head slightly, expression difficult to read.

"That sounds great," Al said excitedly. The moment he turned to look at his brother, Edward effortlessly slipped on a smile to match. "What do you think?"

Ed nodded without a hint of hesitation. "Sounds good to me," he said easily. Al may have missed it, but Roy wasn't fooled for a moment. The sly kid simply did not have an opinion and decided to turn Al's into his own. The colonel just rolled his eyes, having already gotten used to the behavior. Calling him out on it didn't go to well in the past. Chances were, he barely noticed he was even doing it at times. Besides, Roy learned very quickly that if Edward had a problem with something, he would not hesitate to say something.

They've taken multiple trips to the Hughes household before and the boys never had a problem with it, besides maybe the first time due to some initial awkwardness, paired with Maes' unnatural enthusiasm and his young daughter.

"Great," he said after a moment of silent musing. "Saturday at five."

The kids nodded, then turned their gazes back to the television, sensing an end to the conversation. Roy certainly didn't have anything more to say, so he let it be and leaned back into the armchair.

* * *

The documentary continued on for another hour where the three of them sat in a comfortable silence, with a few comments shared between each break. At times, it baffled Roy to think that he would enjoy the company of two children as much as he did, despite how often they (primarily the oldest) made him want to hit his head against a wall.

It was nights like that that always put to rest any doubts he would periodically have about himself and his ability to handle the challenge. At least, until the next time something happened to spring them to life once more.

With there being nothing else good on to watch anyway, Roy told the two to get ready for bed, but not without ordering them to clean off their bowls with the slightest amount of smug satisfaction. He tried to keep it unnoticeable, but no one could deny that a bonus to having kids in the house was his right as a caregiver to assign them chores.

They grumbled, of course, but had spent the next few minutes shuffling dishes around in the kitchen as Roy enjoyed his freedom to do anything but that; which resulted in him just doing nothing. He enjoyed it regardless.

"Goodnight," the blonds said in near unison as they disappeared down the hall for the night.

"Goodnight," Roy replied without thought as he absently continued flipping through the channels of the TV. Long gone were the days where he awkwardly hovered, wondering if they needed his help with any day-to-day activities, and barely keeping himself from giving in-depth directions to the most basic objects around the house. Granted, he probably just underestimated what kids of their age were capable of, but he couldn't help overthinking those things right at the beginning.

But while they were still so young, their difficult past had made them unusually dependent. Roy wouldn't have allowed himself to even ponder adopting them had that not been the case.

He had almost dozed off, focus switching frequently between the television and his own thoughts. It wasn't until what he assumed to be a little over an hour later when he decided to give in and head to bed.

Roy switched the TV off and walked towards the hall, not bothering to suppress the deep yawn that forced its way through. However, it was because of that that he almost missed the hushed murmuring coming from the end of the hall.

The study.

The yawn shifted into a knowing sigh as he shook his head and walked passed his room. As his feet carried him closer, the voices silenced completely, but it was far too late to fool him.

Roy opened the door, eyes falling predictably on the two kids laying on the floor with open books surrounding them, their golden eyes already on him and laced with a childlike guilt.

"Aren't you two supposed to be sleeping?" he asked with a quirked brow, folding his arms expectantly in the doorway.

They both visually faltered for a moment, sharing a quick glance before looking back up at him.

"Sorry," Alphonse offered meekly.

"Just ten more minutes," Edward audaciously urged, his grip on the edges of the book unrelenting. He was entirely shameless in comparison to his brother.

Roy just sighed again with a thin smile to get rid of the frown on Al's face and the defensive pout on Ed's. "Not this time," he answered, ignoring the mild pang he felt upon seeing their deflating reactions.

Maes basically wrote him a book on parenting when he decided to adopt them. And while he ignored most of it, one thing that came to mind was that Roy couldn't give them everything they asked for. Not like that stopped the damned hypocrite from doing just that to his own daughter, but still…

"Come on; put the books away and go to bed." He folded his arms to make it clear that his stance wouldn't budge, despite their moaning and groaning.

As he often did, Roy silently marveled at how they eventually did just as he asked, albeit reluctantly. As a colonel, he was well acquainted with giving orders to soldiers who would always follow them because otherwise, they'd risk insubordination and a court martial at best. It was always strange to see how the same principle applied to children and their guardian instead, when all at risk was merely being grounded.

It was odd how adoption papers were basically an official record stating that he could boss them around in exchange for providing food and shelter, in spite of not being related by blood; although his own upbringing certainly wasn't any different. And really, how did the principle differ from the military?

Roy was certain he was making this too complicated.

With a slight shake of his head, he stepped aside and let the two boys pass, watching passively as they turned to their room while muttering a sleepy _goodnight_.

Once they were gone, Roy wearily scanned the room with his hand over the light switch. Before he flicked it off, his eyes lingered on his decent selection of alchemy books and he heard himself sigh.

Those two were so adamant about learning alchemy, even if it meant teaching themselves. Apparently, their absent father had quite a bit of material, which the boys had poked at once he left. Roy knew it would be good for them to learn, seeing as they had so much intelligence to spare. And yet, he hesitated. The less they knew about it, the less likely it was for them to turn out like him.

Even so, he had never been able to strictly say _no_. He was being stubborn, but a nagging feeling in the back of Roy's head knew it was only a matter of time before he gave in and let them have full reign to his research materials- besides his flame alchemy notes, anyway. There was no way in hell he'd let them get close to that.

With a dismissive shake of his head, Roy backed out of the room and closed the door behind him, yawning once more as he fled to his room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ahh I knew I'd forget to mention it. They're 12 and 13 years old. Now ya know.**

* * *

Edward breathed heavily, the warm air streaming down his throat and burning his already overworked lungs. His heart was racing, each beat pounding in his chest as his legs struggled to keep up with the ball that his sights were dead set on.

He could sense figures quickly approaching from both sides, hurrying to block him off and steal his target. No matter what, he could not let that happen. Ed had already been embarrassed today; he had to redeem himself before it was too late.

Gathering what excess energy he had remaining, Ed forced himself to move faster through sheer force of will, steadily moving further ahead of his pursuers as the ball drew closer and closer. He refused to let himself celebrate just yet, besides the wide, teeth clenching grin that lasted for only a second before he needed to take another sharp intake of breath.

The side of his foot collided into the ball, propelling it forward and keeping up pace. The goal was in sight and the defenders were unable to catch up in time. The goalie steadied him, eyes narrowed in Ed's direction as a silent challenge.

But just as he had moments before, one of his pursuers managed a second wind and began to creep closer in the corner of his eye. Edward began to panic, his focus bouncing between the goal and the opponents that were surrounding him. If it kept up, the blond knew that the ball would be stolen before he could reach the goal.

If he shot for it now, he could make it. He knew he could. He was running out of time, and it was now or never. The enemy was hot on his heels now. Any second, he would be tripped and it would be all over.

With a wild battle cry, Ed tried to block out the daunting shadow that was being cast over him from behind, and prepared a mighty kick for the goal. His foot hit the ball and it went flying, all eyes carefully trained on it.

And it flew right past the goal, into the nearby bushes.

Edward slowed until he could stop without falling on his face, heavy breaths tearing down his throat as he stared at the ball in disbelief. His pursuers passed him before also drawing to a halt, allowing him to see their smug grins that were shared with the opposing goalie.

Meanwhile, the disappointed groans of his teammates echoed from further back in the field.

"Get some water while you can, then set up for the next round," the coach announced from the side of the field. Edward glanced at him on impulse. He caught the man's eye for a brief moment, but it was long enough to drop a disappointed stone deep into his gut. It was just a practice round against half of his own teammates, but he was supposed to be doing better than this.

He hadn't managed to land a single goal for the entirety of the practice session, despite winning them the game just the day before.

With a huff, Edward turned to walk back to his starting position, playing his failed attempt back in his mind. But as he was about reached his spot, a water bottle appeared in his vision, snapping him out of his despondent thoughts to look up at Alphonse, who shook the bottle again lightly until he accepted it. His brother didn't say anything; he just smiled meekly, correctly assuming that no hollow reassurances would help his dropping mood at all.

Edward took a few gulps of the water, the exhaled a weary "damn" after swallowing. He cleared his throat and returned the plastic lid to the bottle. "What is my problem?" he asked Al, only half rhetorically. "I've been playing like shit."

"You're just having an off day," Alphonse offered lightly.

"I better be. The final game is right around the corner. I'm gonna bring everyone down with me at this rate," he muttered, side eyeing the spot on the side of the field where all of the players had dumped their stuff.

"Don't take this so seriously, Brother," Al continued, taking the bottle back from him. "This is the whole point of practicing."

"Yeah, yeah," he huffed with a dismissive wave of his hand. Alphonse just shrugged and walked over to the side of the field to drop the bottles off, passing a small group of their gossiping teammates on his way. Edward turned back to focus on positioning himself in the correct spot, and returned to his dour thoughts until the coach called the next drill.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ed and Al were sitting on the short brick wall that encircled part of the field, idly staring out at the nearby road. Many of their fellow teammates were scattering in different directions, to climb into familiar cars or walk into nearby neighborhoods. Some remained by the wall, routinely waiting for their rides as the sun began to set behind the cityscape.

Edward had his arms folded, trying but most likely failing to keep his bridling frustrations under wraps. Alphonse shifted anxiously besides him, having kept silent for several minutes now. Ed guessed that it was because his earlier attempt to mollify him did not work. His radiating irritation was surely pressuring his younger brother into silence, but he couldn't quite bring that thought to the front of his mind long enough to do anything about it.

Minutes went on, shadows shifted ever so slightly, and more of their teammates left the field for the night. It was not uncommon for the two brothers to be the last ones remaining, which Roy always seemed to regret whenever it happened. Edward couldn't say he minded or even cared most of the time, and today was not any different. He would sit and wait and stew on his thoughts regardless.

However, doing so was interrupted when the team's coach approached the two with his usual friendly demeanor. Edward half expected him to mention Ed's poor performance during practice, but it did not come.

"Hey," Andrew Mercer greeted as he approached the wall. "You two don't need a ride home, do you?"

"Nah, we're fine," Edward replied absently, eyes falling back to the road ahead. If something had actually stopped Roy from picking them up, he would have called or something, he thought as his hand went for the cell phone in his pocket.

"If you say so," Coach Mercer said with an easy shrug. "Roy works in the military, doesn't he?" The blonds nodded. "How is that? I imagine he's out of the house quite a bit."

Edward just shrugged, thoughts straying elsewhere, enticing Alphonse to answer instead. "It's not too bad. His work hours are pretty regular. I think once school starts again, we'll hardly notice."

Ed found himself nodding. There were days where Roy worked longer than usual, as well as the occasional weekend when he decided to go in, but he at least made a visible effort to ensure those decisions didn't mess with anything he and Al were planning. When he ran late to pick them up from practice, it was usually thanks to merely heavy traffic.

The coach nodded and leaned back against the short wall. "He must have some interesting stories from that field of work, huh?"

Edward absently glanced back towards the park for a moment, then turned back when he felt Al's eyes fall on him. "Not really," Al answered after a few beats. "He doesn't really talk about work."

"Oh? He must have shared something with you. He's a State Alchemist, isn't he? What about that?"

Al _hmm_ed in thought for a moment. "Well he has a lot of alchemy research that we like to look into, but he doesn't talk about that much either." Only someone who was listening for it could hear the hint of shameless guilt in his tone, considering that Roy never seemed too excited to share his alchemy notes with them.

"I see," the coach breathed thoughtfully, subtly drumming his fingers against the brick for a moment.

Ed opened his mouth to elaborate on the topic, but again, his attention was pulled away as his eyes scanned the park, clueless as to why. It almost felt he was being watched. He blinked and turned away to find the coach was watching him curiously for a moment, but continued on with the conversation when he didn't say anything more.

"Regardless, Roy seems like a good man."

"Yeah, I think so too. Right, Brother?"

Edward swiftly turned his head, now glaring at the expanse of the park. And then his eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of movement, only for it to disappear behind a tree. He felt their gazes briefly follow his, but whatever he saw was already gone. "Yeah, yeah," he said distractedly, only vaguely aware of what he was agreeing to. With an absent sigh, he willed himself to turn back to the other two again in an attempt to convince himself that he was imagining things, despite the ominous prickling he felt down his spine.

However, he looked back to the coach, who's gaze did not leave the expanse just yet. For a moment, the man seemed to be struck by some kind of realization, but whatever epiphany he came to was quickly washed over by a guarded annoyance. Edward looked back over to the row of trees and again saw that figure edging behind one.

The coach reacted immediately, pushing himself lightly off the wall and took a few steps in the direction of the suspicious figure, shoulders stiff as if he was prepared for a confrontation. Ed and Al watched from their perch on the stone wall, silently gaping.

Coach Mercer didn't get very far, however, before his approach was noticed and the figure fled from their hiding spot behind the distant tree and left the field. Edward's eyes followed the person until they crossed the street and disappeared into the surrounding buildings. The coach paused, did the same, and then turned back to the two, a thin smile back on his expression as if nothing had just happened.

Edward was not given much of an opportunity to really consider what had just happened when the coach clasped his hands together and turned to him, announcing "since we have the time, let's discuss your performances today."

All of the frustrations he held regarding the practice session returned with a vengeance, and Ed shamelessly let out an irked groan as Al just sighed, all thoughts of the mysterious stranger put to the back of their minds for the time being.

* * *

Roy reclined in the driver's seat of his car, one hand on the wheel and the other trying in vain to massage the headache away. The frustration of the latest case he had been assigned to was still raw in his mind, if not only amplified by the annoyances of rush hour that allowed him to do nothing else but stew on it.

As much as he would like to break into a full-blown rant to the first person he saw, he knew he wouldn't get the satisfaction anytime soon. Sadly, he couldn't quite do that since he was on his way to pick up the kids from their soccer practice. They've tried asking about his job before, but Roy was adamant about keeping tight lipped about mostly everything he did at work.

The colonel banished all office related thoughts away for the moment as he pulled up along the park, scanning the field for the two blonds. Many of the kids had already been picked up, but a few still remained, separating themselves into several small groups as they all chatted amiably. He only had to sit there for a moment before he noticed the two approach the car and climb into the back.

"Hey," Roy greeted, turning to look at them over his shoulder. Almost immediately, he caught their strange comportments. Edward had his arms folded and was glaring at the back of the seat in front of him as if it was the sole cause of all of life's troubles. Meanwhile, Alphonse was downright nervous and a little fidgety as he stared down at his folded hands. They both mumbled some kind of greeting in return, at least.

Roy blinked and turned to start the car, finding this kind of confrontation easiest when he had a reason not to make eye contact.

"How did it go?" he asked curiously, hoping to make his intent clear in his tone.

"Shitty," Edward snapped without missing a beat. His brother said nothing.

"Al?" Roy asked easily, glancing back at him through the rearview mirror.

Alphonse jumped slightly. "Uh, it was fine."

Roy dropped his gaze back onto the road and frowned. He considered just bluntly asking them what was wrong, but he couldn't help the sneaking suspicion that Al would vaguely avoid the issue and Edward would irately announce that it was none of his business.

For several long seconds, none of them said anything. He considered breaking the silence with his own story, but anything short of telling them about a stupid joke Maes regaled him with earlier didn't really do the situation justice. Most of his day contained much grittier topics that he didn't want to discuss with them.

The rest of the thankfully short drive consisted of more silence. Roy was just glad that their anxieties were not directly towards him. It made the drive bearable, at least.

Just as expected, the moment he parked the car and climbed out, Edward was quick to disappear down the hall. Roy just shook his head and made his way into the kitchen, noticing after a moment that the nervous looking Alphonse had followed him. He strolled further in, not entirely sure where to place himself, then decided to lean against the counter to allow his eyes to fall curiously on his younger charge.

Alphonse remained only a step beyond the entrance, shifting his feet nervously for a moment as he stared at nothing in thought. Roy waited a few moments before finally asking "what's up?" as casually as he could manage.

"Um," he started slowly, nervously intertwining his fingers. "Brother had a hard time at practice today."

"Yeah, I figured it was something like that," Roy replied easily, carefully watching for any silent hints. "Is that what's been bothering you?"

"No," he muttered, then glanced back as if to see if his brother was right around the corner, listening in. "But I overheard some of the other kids talking about him. I'm not sure if I should do anything about it."

Roy blinked and straightened his posture slightly. "What did they say?"

Al hesitated and dropped his gaze. "They were saying things like the points he scored at the last game were just luck and he should be switched out for someone else."

"Well, how do you think you should handle it?"

Alphonse took a step to the side and leaned his back up against the fridge, folding his arms in thought, but dropping some of the nervous tension that followed him in. "I wanted to tell Ed, but I know he'll just make a big deal about it. If I don't say anything, it'll feel like I'm keeping secrets from him."

"Hmm… It seems to me like no matter how he reacts, this will only continue to bother you unless you bring it up."

"…but you know him; he'll probably end up making some dramatic confrontation in the middle of practice about it."

"And what's so wrong with that?"

Al hesitated, blinking mutely at the unexpected question for a moment, before his gaze dropped to give it some real consideration. "Well, it's not good to be arguing amongst ourselves, right? We're supposed to be a team."

"But if others are already talking about Ed behind his back…" Roy supplied, trailing off to allow Alphonse to fill the gaps himself.

The blond sighed. "That's true." He grew silent once again, prompting Roy to continue.

"If it were me, I don't think it would concern me enough to bring it up. But if this is going to continue to bother you, then you should do something about it."

Al nodded slowly, then looked up at Roy with something that more closely resembled a nervous determination. "I'll tell him tomorrow."

Roy nodded thinly at the kid, quietly hoping that he handled that well.

Alphonse turned to walk out, but paused in the doorway and hesitated there for a moment. The colonel just watched him curiously before he turned back to the man again. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. After practice, we noticed some suspicious person lingering around the park. They left as soon as the coach noticed, but… I guess it doesn't matter now," he pondered aloud with a shrug. "Never mind," he added as an afterthought and left the kitchen, leaving Roy alone with his thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

The following morning started the same as any other, with Roy waking up slightly earlier than the kids, and spending the serene silence with a mug of coffee and a newspaper. He was less than pleased to see events involving the case he had been working on make the front page, however.

What started as a simple worker's strike in the warehouse distract were steadily turning into destructive riots. From what he had gathered so far, others who were unaffected by the low wages of the workers decided to join in just as an excuse to cause chaos and break car windows, and were tethering the unhappy workers along for the ride.

Once Roy stepped into the office in a few hours, he would be back to searching for the individuals who had inspired the increase of violence. Many suspected that they had ulterior motives besides seeking thrill. The colonel wasn't convinced that it all lead back down to some complicated conspiracy, but the sooner the military could end the violence, the better.

He was just glad that the riots were far from his neighborhood. The last thing he wanted was another reason to trap the kids indoors all day.

With a sigh, he flipped to the next page and took another sip of his coffee, allowing his eyes to skim absently through the information that he would no doubt forget within the hour.

He heard voices from down the hall, though felt no need to consider them until the volume quickly rose to a yell. He looked up from the paper and glanced to the hall, trying to make out what was being said. But moments later, he heard angry footfalls and Edward's voice growing closer.

"He said _what!?"_

Yep, that was definitely Ed. Alphonse said something in response, though not nearly as vocally.

"What gives him the right?" Edward snapped rhetorically just as he marched into the living room with his brother following hesitantly behind. Roy leaned sideways to peer into the room from the kitchen. "I've scored more goals than him all season, and he thinks he can replace me because of one bad day?!"

Roy was reminded of the conversation he had with Al the day before. He wasted no time in telling Ed what he had overheard once the new day began, apparently.

"I don't think it's that big of a deal," Al tried, clearly not convinced much he could say would help, based on his tone.

"Mark begs to differ," the older brother snapped. "I'm not just going to sit here and let him replace me! I think I still remember where he lives…"

And there was Roy's cue to get involved. He pushed himself from the table, abandoning his coffee as he walked into the living room.

"Alright, what's going on?" he interjected as he entered the room and folded the arms, eyeing over the two as they stood in the middle of the living room, one far angrier than the other.

"My position is getting usurped!" Ed announced, spinning around to face the colonel. "I have to go tell that little shit off."

Roy blinked. "You're not going anywhere to tell anyone off."

"But if that punk, Mark, keeps telling people that I can't do my job, they're gonna switch me out," he complained, balling his fists at his sides as Al watched helplessly.

"I think your overreacting. Last I checked, local soccer teams are not democracies." After a second thought, Roy decided that Ed's extreme reaction to the situation was not surprising. He remembered how involved he got back when they met during Roy's undercover exploits during his orphanage investigation. Even for being so young, he didn't hesitate to get involved, and even seemed attracted to the thrill of it. Now, with nothing else to keep him interested, he took the team he was on maybe a little too seriously.

Thankfully, that seemed to calm the kid somewhat. Not much. His shoulders slackened slightly and he glared at the floor. "Maybe, but he's still talking about me behind my back."

"Then prove them all wrong through your actions," Roy supplied calmly. "And by that, I mean during the games; not by showing up at his _house._"

Edward folded his arms stiffly and muttered something under his breath.

"Besides," he offered, noticing how Ed glanced up at him curiously, "you've been on this team since the start of the season. They should know not to believe whatever this kid is saying so easily."

Edward didn't give an immediate response.

"That's what I've been saying," Al added, giving his brother a half-hearted but pointed look.

The older blond grumbled something again, then shrugged exasperatedly. "Fine," he huffed reluctantly. "I'll wait until the next game to show him up. But I'm not gonna just sit idly by if he tried to embarrass me or something."

Without thought, Roy chuckled, unsurprised when Ed glared in his direction with a snappish "what?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," he sighed lightly, causing the kid's annoyed frown to deepen. "It just seems to me like you're fighting for dominance or something."

A beat passed, until Ed's posture suddenly lightened somewhat and he unfolded his arms. "That's exactly what this is," he exclaimed, but still failing to see what Roy found so amusing about it, and seemed less than pleased when the alchemist continued to laugh. "What's so funny!?"

"Nothing," he insisted again without wiping the smile from his face or tone.

"Uh huh," the kid muttered, entirely unconvinced.

Roy almost felt bad, he realized after a moment. Edward was a competitive person, and would excel very well in anything with high stakes. Part of him wished he had something more than sports for the kid to put his energy in. But then again, he was still so young. There was plenty of time to consider that later. For now, this was good for him, even if he didn't see it yet.

"Now then, if that's all settled, I need to get ready for work," he said, taking a glance towards the clock on the wall by the television. But with that said, he wasn't quite expecting the subtle disappointment that seemed to flicker in both of them for just a moment. He paused mid-step and fought to offer a solution. They were probably bored on the week days where they didn't have soccer practice to go to, and sometimes watching TV for hours on end didn't cut it.

"Will you two be alright?" he asked after a beat.

"Yeah," Al said with an unsure smile. "We'll figure out something to do."

He pursed his lip, wanting to help in some way. He glanced around the room and noticed their soccer ball sitting in the corner. He moved it over to himself with his foot. "Why don't you go practice in the yard or something?" he asked, picking the ball up and turning it over in his hands.

"You think all we do is play soccer?" Edward huffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Roy blinked and a beat of silence passed as he considered the question. Just how much variety did they need…? "Sure, why not?"

"Not very observant of you," the blond scoffed.

"Brother," Alphonse scolded quietly.

Roy felt himself shrug and thoughtlessly tossed the ball over to Edward. However, the older blond failed to expect it, and the ball collided with his head before he could stop it. He floundered for a moment as it bounced harmlessly along the floor away from him. Edward, once he collected himself, looked at the colonel incredulously. "You bastard," he huffed, eyes narrowing defensively.

"Brother!"

"What? He's the one throwing things!" Ed gestured pointedly at the older alchemist.

Despite his rage, Roy couldn't quite stop himself from finding some amusement in the kid's irritation, though he was sure the neighbors would look down on him for it. He started thinking about making some snarky comment in response.

"Still," Alphonse huffed stubbornly. "You shouldn't talk to your dad like that."

That, however, was enough to make Roy pause. Edward too, apparently, as the both glanced at each other with a hint of embarrassment.

It was hard enough to get used to Alphonse calling him that. Since Edward never got into the habit, Roy didn't really have to think about it.

Neither quite knew what to say once Al had unintentionally brought that fact to attention. He noticed what had happened a moment later thanks to the silence, but was also at a loss for words.

Roy steeled himself, knowing he had to bring a swift end to that topic for more than one reason.

"It's fine," he shrugged casually, completely overstepping the whole _dad_ issue, much to Edward's apparent relief. "Just don't go talking like that to other people."

The colonel watched some nervousness slip out of the kids as he turned towards the hall to get ready for work, decisively telling himself yet again that life would be easier if he didn't worry as much, and pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

* * *

Edward woke up with a start and immediately clamped a shaken hand over his mouth so the scream would die in his throat. With his other hand, he absently tugged on the neck of his shirt, feeling the fabric stick to him with cold sweat. As his pulse beat loudly in his ears, Ed glanced across the dark room to where Al was sleeping soundly. The faint moonlight drifted into the mostly sparse room that they were still working on filling.

He tried to control his breathing into something less noisy, but when that didn't immediately work, he rolled off his bed and slowly made his way to the door, acutely noticing how very movement seemed to be twice as loud at night.

The moment he shuffled into the hallway and closed the door behind him, Ed's legs gave in and he slid his back down the wall and buried his face into his hands, taking uneven, ragged breaths through his quivering fingers.

He uttered a hushed, fragile curse that could have easily been mistaken for a clipped exhale. This certainly was not the first time he had been jolted awake by a nightmare at some ungodly hour, but as always, he dearly hoped it would be the last.

It had been a while, Edward noted as he felt a thin, dour smile pull at his lips. Perhaps he had been so caught up with the soccer season approaching it's end to think about his mother and that damned orphanage, even subconsciously. He should have known it was only a matter of time.

Only a few beats passed until, to Ed's horror, he heard the quiet creak of a door opening. He buried himself a little deeper into his arms, hoping to somehow disappear in the shadows of the ill-lit hallway. But of course, that would have been just too easy.

Even after he had insulted the man earlier that day, a small, traitorous voice reminded him.

"Edward?" a deep and familiar voice asked questionably across the hall, his tone soft and comforting in a way that he chose not to think about. Ed grimaced but otherwise did not respond, knowing he was incapable of stopping Roy from approaching him. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

That damn concern in his voice…

"Nothing," he muttered into his arms, unable to raise his head and look at his guardian. He thought he moved quietly enough to go unnoticed, but of course he should have known that Roy was only a heavy sleeper when it was convenient.

"This certainly doesn't _look_ like nothing," he said slowly with a hint of caution in his voice. Ed heard a light shuffle of fabric besides him and knew Roy had joined him on the floor, to which he immediately felt his face flush from embarrassment. "Come on, tell me what's wrong. Was it another nightmare?"

Edward remained huddled in his arms, but was quite incapable of ignoring the heavy gaze that rested on his shoulders. Though it has been some time, he certainly did not forget how stubborn the man could be, especially the last time he found Ed like this.

"…yeah," he huffed and shifted his weight slightly, but still could not bring himself to uncoil.

"Was it about the orphanage again?"

Edward pursed his lip and hesitantly allowed himself to think back on the images that had invaded his sleep. He nodded after a moment, deciding that that was the best way to put it. It started with him, Al, and their mother, but she vanished and left the two brothers alone very near the beginning of what he could remember.

He allowed himself to offer a short, barely distinguishable nod, then felt a steady hand land on his shoulder and give a gentle squeeze. Again, Ed felt his face heat up from the embarrassment. No matter how much he wanted to look up, he couldn't bring himself to fall any further under the man's gaze. He hated feeling like he needed to depend on the sympathy of others, and inadvertently making people feel like they were obligated to offer it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Roy asked after allowing a long moment to pass.

"There's not much to talk about. I don't really remember it all too well." That didn't feel like a complete lie, anyway. He couldn't really remember any events or anything specific that could have caused him to wake up in a cold sweat.

He was just _there_, standing in that building that had taken up years of his life, holding onto his younger brother's hand like a lifeline. They wanted to take him away, but he couldn't let them.

The halls of the orphanage were dark and long with a series of photographs and portraits spanning the walls, somehow creating the illusion that they were constantly watching him. The matron stood at the end, staring at Ed and Al with her aged, hawkish eyes. She grew closer somehow with every passing heartbeat, and every nerve in Edward's body warned to _get away._

He woke up before she could reach them, thankfully. The fear of what she might have done once reaching the brothers jolted him awake. But the memories of the time spent there still burned too brightly to simply cover up again.

What started as the occasional smack on the wrist by a meter stick eventually turned into full slaps across the face. And the _claws_ on that woman certainly did not help, especially when she had to hide the marks she left by locking him and any other unfortunate child in a closet whenever visitors came to the building.

And that was only the tip of the iceberg, Edward reminded himself as echoes of her irritating, condescending voice came to mind. Constantly being told that he would end up alone on the streets the moment he was eighteen years old cycled through his mind, which he bitterly tried to clear away. He always thought that was strange; it was that woman's job to get every kid there adopted. Wasn't saying that it would never happen mean that she was bad at her job?

Sometimes he could still feel his old wounds sting and wondered how nothing had scarred.

With something that resembled a weary groan, Ed shook his head and willed himself to focus on the present. His own breathing, the slight shuffle to his side when Roy shifted his weight, the distant rumble of city traffic…

"She's still bothering you, huh?" Roy asked quietly, softly, with something comfortingly understanding in his tone. He didn't need to go into any more detail than that.

Edward shuddered subtly, reminded once more of how the house's matron had threatened to separate Ed and Al for good, and just nearly succeeded had Roy not come along when he did.

The blond nodded needlessly. The colonel was well aware of how difficult it was for everyone who had to spend years in that house.

Edward still vividly remembered when one of the newer kids decided to stand up to that monster. She grabbed his wrist, probably piercing through the skin in the process, and pulled him away from prying eyes. It was a big house with many people staying inside, but Ed didn't manage to catch even a glimpse of him for almost a week after that, and never learned what had happened. The very thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

"I know it's hard to help," Roy started with a sigh, "but you can't keep thinking about it like this. I can guarantee you that she has long forgotten about you two. That woman is far too busy sitting in prison and cursing my name anyway."

Edward smiled wryly when he recognized the smug grin in the man's voice. And he was probably right.

The matron of the orphanage was never told that it was Ed and Al who were surreptitiously feeding information and proof of the abuse that occurred there to the colonel who was posing as a mere civilian looking for someone to adopt. And her being caught for tax evasion was just an added bonus.

"True," Edward mumbled and finally rose his head to rest his chin on his knees, not quite looking at Roy. For not the first time, he considered just how much he owed the man who was sitting next to him.

The orphanage got shut down after Roy and his team had collected enough evidence, but a consequence of that was that all of the kids were being sent across the country to different facilities. Maybe some of the remaining staff members suspected Ed and Al's involvement and wanted to spite them, or maybe it was just bad luck, but the two were going to get split up. They were going to get sent to opposite sides of the country and there wasn't anything they could see to do about it.

By then, they had been working with Roy for several weeks. They had gotten to know each other after spending so much time talking and decided to share their concerns to him, hoping he could somehow pull some strings. He tried, at least, and Edward was grateful for that much. But when that didn't work, he made an offer that seemed almost impulsive at the time.

He offered to adopt them so they could stay together.

At first, Edward thought the colonel was reluctant to extend the offer, but later, he realized it was more… awkwardness. The usually over confident man didn't seem like he minded having the two of them around, and stating as much made him somewhat sheepish. He covered it up quickly at the time and said it could all be in title only; that he'd just give them a place to live, and they could continue to do whatever the hell they wanted as thanks for aiding in the investigation.

A few months later, they were eating dinner together and were prompted to join a sport and felt free to coax him into getting ice cream every now and again. It was the closest thing to a family Ed had felt since their mother died, and yet he was still too reluctant to admit it; like he was trying to spare some stubborn sense of pride.

Meanwhile, Alphonse had leapt wholeheartedly into the role, calling Roy _Dad_ and hugging him just about every chance he got. Anyone watching wouldn't think they had known each other for less than a year. Edward thought showing such affection was a bad idea at first. A quiet, cynical part of him was sure this was all temporary; that Roy would realize how much extra work he needlessly put on himself and would change his mind. Ed didn't want to put too much emotional stock in their arrangement for that reason, but the longer they stayed with him, the less likely it seemed.

Which was good, of course. Edward was happy where he was. But he supposed he wasn't quite prepared for the possibility- at least not at first. And now he felt like it was too late to retcon how he chose to approach it.

He tried to avoid thinking about it, but he was almost jealous of how freely Al could lean on their guardian like a father. Meanwhile, Ed was sarcastic and distant and acted like Roy wasn't anything more than the guy who paid for things and drove the car.

He… regretted that.

Somehow, it seemed too late to change his demeanor.

Suddenly changing, putting on a friendly act until it became natural, all seemed too embarrassing.

Edward failed to realize that the two of them had been sitting in a comfortable silence for several minutes. The cold chill in his bones from his previous nightmare had been forgotten at the cost of being reminded of his more present concerns.

Roy, however, did not seem to mind the lack of conversation. After a moment, he yawned and Ed was about to urge him to go back to bed, but his tongue was stilled before he could get the words out. Roy leaned against the wall lazily and slipped an arm over Ed's shoulders, seeming so casual and content that it hurt. Something contrite coiled in Ed's chest at seeing just how little the man seemed to mind sitting in the hallway with him at three in the morning, pulling him into something like a side hug without the need to even say something.

And Ed felt like an ass for stubbornly, stupidly, for whatever god dammed pointless reason, refusing to lean into the warmth.

Occasionally, impulsive and shameful thoughts would slither into his mind, insinuating that there was no plausible way that Roy didn't like Al more than him.

_But that shouldn't matter, _the stupid stubborn part of his mind argued. Ed was the charge, and Al was the son. Those were the roles they fell into. To him, Roy was a guardian. To Al, he was a father.

He had no right to be bothered by that.

_Damn it._

He huddled further into his arms, torn between ignoring and sinking into the comforting weight on his shoulders, his tired mind rapidly wondering what the man beside him was thinking.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the late update, my dudes. For whatever reason, I was So Certain yesterday was Tuesday... and I planned on finishing the responses to reviews before posting on Wednesday, but now I'm a day late... I'm all over the place today. ;u;**

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Roy turned off the ignition and climbed out of the car, absently listening as the boys did the same while he looked up at the house he parked in front of, the door illuminated by the porch lights that flooded the driveway.

Alphonse bounded around the car, stopping by his side and absently smiled when Roy glanced down at him. Though there was nothing all too special about going to Hughes' house for dinner, he dressed for the occasion with a nice buttoned up shirt and was clearly looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, Edward appeared on his other side with his shoulders hunched and hands stuffed in his pockets. He was wearing all black besides the bright red hoodie that he had clearly owned for years, and a frown smeared across his face. In addition to the painfully noticeable purple bruise on his cheek and a Band-Aid on the bridge of his nose, he made quite the picture especially when paired with his brother.

Roy sighed and approached the front door.

There was some kind of ruckus coming from inside, as there often was when he visited, but Roy heedlessly ignored it and knocked on the door. It was flung open before his knuckles could hit the surface a second time and Maes greeted him with a big grin.

"The Mustang's have arrived!" he announced as loudly and jovially as always as he stepped aside and welcomed them in with a wide sweep of his arm.

"Hey Maes," Roy returned with a thin smile, deciding to at least make an attempt to push down the weariness he still felt from the day's activities.

He stepped in as the two kids followed. He noticed with a quick glance behind that Edward was trying to avoid attention by glaring at the ground. Unfortunately for him, nothing got passed the head of the Investigations Department.

"Whoa, Ed! What happened to your face?!"

Roy just barely stifled a laugh as they entered the house, suddenly very glad for his best friend's complete lack of tact.

"Nothing," Ed snapped defensively and shuffled past the man, followed by his brother who seemed to still sympathize for him but couldn't quite keep the mild amusement from his face.

"Oh, it's quite the story," Roy said as they entered the living room. "I'll be happy to regale you with _all_ of the details over dinner." He could feel Ed glaring into the back of his head.

"That sounds just wonderful!" Maes exclaimed as he clasped his hands together, also earning a sharp, loathsome look from the kid.

"Uncle Roy!" Their attention was pulled away from Ed as Elicia tottered into the room, plowing haphazardly into Roy and wrapped her little arms around his leg.

"Hey, kiddo," he said lightly and ruffled her hair, earning a gleeful giggle in response. She then released him once her eyes fell on Ed and Al, and hurried over to them for more hugs. Roy watched just long enough to see her notice Edward's injuries, and try to pull him down to her level so she could "kiss it better." As enjoyable as his panicked attempt to gently fight her off was to watch, Roy followed Maes into the kitchen to greet Gracia.

She was standing over the stove, stirring something in a pot and looked over to the two with a bright smile. "Hello, Roy," he greeted warmly. "It's good to see you again. How are the boys doing?"

He smirked inwardly, once again thinking about the fun story he'll get to torture Edward with over dinner. "They're doing well," he said simply, deciding to leave the details for then. Maes seemed to be looking forward to the same thing, as he just chuckled as he leaned against the counter.

"Oh, that reminds me," Maes said suddenly in a tone that Roy had learned to fear. "I _have_ to tell you about what Elicia earlier did when she-" His friend was cut off by the chime in his phone, which he pulled out of his pocket with a juvenile pout. However, once he read the caller ID, his expression hardened. "Work," he said simply, and picked up the call as he stepped out of the kitchen.

Roy watched him go, knowing that a call from the office at this hour never meant anything good. Once he was out of earshot, he turned back to Gracia, who gave him a shrug that said this was nothing new to her.

"Always on the clock," he sighed with a relating, wry smile.

Gracia nodded as she tapped the spoon against the edge of the pot and set it aside. "It's hard to be a doting father and an attentive worker at the same time."

"Maes does a good job at it though," he shrugged absently, drawing lines in the granite countertop with his eyes.

Roy heard a faint chuckle from her and looked up to see her smiling fondly at him. "You seem to be doing a pretty good job at that too," she said, gesturing lightly to the kids in the other room.

He paused and blinked a few times. "I wouldn't call myself a _doting father_," he replied almost awkwardly.

"Whatever you say, Roy," Gracia smiled as she opened a cabinet and pulled out some plates. "But I know you would do anything for those boys."

The colonel did not respond, but he was able to tell how easily she could read his expression. Back in the academy days, he used to rave about how he would never settle down. And now Maes jumped at every opportunity to point out that he did the exact opposite.

Thankfully, his friend entered the room again and saved him by changing the topic. "Another riot broke out across town," he stated dourly, keeping his voice low so the kids in the other room wouldn't hear.

Roy frowned, though knew it was only a matter of time. "Damn…"

"I have to go to the office tomorrow," he sighed, leaning against the counter as Gracia moved around the kitchen with a practiced ease. "Apparently, they apprehended someone who seemed to be organizing it."

"Organizing the chaos, huh?" Roy commented, mirthlessly smirking at the irony, but dropped the expression once it sunk in that Maes had to go in on a Sunday. That always sucked.

"Prepare yourself, Roy. This is going to be a busy week; I can feel it."

"Duly noted," he huffed and idly thought ahead to what he had planned for the week. The final game of the season was coming up; he hoped nothing would interrupt him from driving the boys to practice until then.

"Is dinner almost ready?"

They both jumped and turned back to see Al standing in the doorway.

_How long has he been there?_

"Just finished," Gracia announced. "Grab a plate, everyone."

Roy forcibly shrugged off all work-related thoughts and focused on dinner. Spaghetti, bread, salad, and some wine for the adults. They all filtered in and out of the kitchen with relative ease as different conversations filled the air. Ed was still fruitlessly trying to avoid attention, but was chatting with Al regardless. Elicia temporarily complained when her mother put some vegetables on her plate, but eventually relented by the time they were all seated.

The multiple casual conversations continued for a moment longer, then settled when everyone began to eat. There were some compliments on Gracia's cooking, a comment about the weather, some side conversations between the kids, before Maes promptly drew everyone's attention to him.

"Now let's get into the real reason we're all here," Maes started eagerly, and then looked across the table to Edward with a cat-like grin. Ed sunk further into his chair, his annoyance evident.

"Well," Roy began pointedly, leaning over to place a hand on Ed's hunched shoulder despite the slight fear that the kid would bite it off. "Edward thought it would be a good idea to get into a fight during the game this morning."

Ed was glaring at the colonel as Maes gasped dramatically, prompting Roy to go on.

"Apparently, some other kid was talking about him behind his back. And despite both Alphonse and myself recommending better ways to deal with it, he decided that a punch to the face was the only solution," he continued to explain, exaggerating the amusement in his tone.

Meanwhile, Edward squirmed, radiating with discomfort until he finally sat up straight and snapped a response. "If you're gonna tell the whole world what happened, you should at least include _everything._"

"By all means," he replied without missing a beat and gestured towards Ed to speak, who's glare sharpened in response.

Ordinarily, Roy would have taken a much more somber approach to something as serious as one of his kids getting into a fist fight. And he tried, in his own defense. He spent the latter half of the game talking to the other kid's parents as well as the coach, while Ed and the kid he punched, Mark, sat on the sidelines, watching their teammates continue without them.

None of them knew what happened during halftime that caused the little fight to break out, and Ed didn't give him much to work with. But at the same time, Roy was aware that Edward was not the one who started this. He tried to keep that in mind while speaking to the other parents. He was disappointed with how things turned out, but he could not risk making the mistake of blaming Ed for everything.

He tried to be reasonable.

He tried to be fair.

Hell, he even chose not to resort to grounding the kid.

But in spite of it all, Ed had clammed up, saying not much else besides vague insults towards the other party. He gave Roy no choice but to turn to a different method: embarrassment. Which so far, thank god, was having the desired effect. And Roy certainly had no qualms about using Maes in the process.

A little less than a year ago, Maes used Roy for the same thing, after all. Elicia had gotten into a little tiff with another girl for refusing to share a fluffy pink cat toy she got as a present. Roy had been tasked with pretending to be interested in the little stuffed thing to help teach her about sharing. It was only fair that Roy could have Maes do something similar for him.

Edward was studying him carefully, obviously irritated that he had been put into this position. And yet, there was a glimmer of annoyed understanding that said he knew what Roy was doing. After a few seconds of a staring contest, the blond slouched again and twirled some spaghetti noodles around his fork and took a bite.

The silence that passed was quickly broken when Elicia started humming a song as she messily ate at the other side of the table, not quite paying attention to the situation. Edward glanced around the table and the many eyes on him, minus Maes who had begun to fawn over his daughter. He then looked down at the food on the table, temper simmering somewhat.

"I don't really know why I… punched him. I didn't plan to," he started quietly, eyeing the others as the amusement dissipated and they all listened patiently. "What Mark said to some of the others was still bothering me; I thought if I confronted him and got it over with, I'd play better." Roy kept himself from nodding, remembering that the opponents had more points when halftime hit. "So, I called him out and… he didn't respond well, but I guess I didn't either. I think we were both irritated by how the game was going, but still." He trailed off.

Roy mentally filled the gap by thinking back to seeing the fight start a few feet away from where he was standing, idly chatting with some of the moms. He heard gasps and shocked yells and saw a circle form where the team was milling about. He immediately hurried over and felt his heart lodge itself somewhere in his throat when he recognized Edward in the middle getting punched in the face and throwing his fist back in retaliation just before Roy broke through the circle and intercepted the two. The coach was quick to follow, with the other kid's parents not far behind.

After returning home, Roy already chastised the boy with a lengthy speech about resorting to violence that he had prepared during the car ride, but he suspected Edward had spaced out for half of it. But at the same time, he tried to reason with him, even though he wasn't getting much of a response. He didn't want it to drag out and make dinner with the Hugheses awkward.

Roy felt his headache returning just thinking about it. Edward was always impulsive and short-tempered, but he never expected him to get into a fight over something like that. Sometimes he had to wonder if something else was on his mind that acted as a catalyst.

They ended up losing the game when two of the three offenders got benched. The team got rearranged and after the already low score halfway through, their chances of catching up were close to none.

Maes cleared his throat after taking a sip from his wine glass. "Will you still be able to play next week?" he asked curiously. Roy was thankful that he never needed to explain these thing to his friend. Maes joined in with harassing the kid earlier, but knew when to tone it down as well. He too knew it wasn't all Ed's fault, after all.

"Yeah," Edward huffed, stirring through his pasta absently. "It's the final game of the season; the team would lose for sure if neither of us were there."

"You might not have gotten off so easily if that fight went on any longer," Roy pointed out carefully.

"I _know_," the kid sighed. "But he's the one that pushed me first. I never really wanted to hurt him."

"So, you were holding back," Al jumped in suddenly, drawing the many pairs of eyes over to him after staying silent up until then.

"Yeah," Ed agreed as if he was only then thinking about it. He pulled apart a piece of bread and smirked slightly as he watched his hands move. "Good thing I did, too. Mark looked like he was gonna cry even though I barely touched him."

Roy had somehow slipped out of the _upset parent_ mindset or whatever the hell it should have been called and chuckled at the comment without thinking, though he quickly regretted it.

"Roy!" Maes chided with a feigned surprised gasp. "Are you _condoning_ this behavior?" he asked, scandalized.

"What? No-"

"You laughed," his friend pressed with an amusing grin.

"I did not."

"You did!" Edward declared, sitting a little straighter in his chair as he too grinned at the colonel as the earlier tension slipped out of his shoulders. "You think this whole thing is funny, don't you?"

"No, of course not! I'm taking this very seriously." He glanced around the table for some form of assistance, but everyone was watching him knowingly. Gracia was holding in laughter and even Elicia was giggling. While he had been backed into a corner and was stumbling to defend himself, he looked over to Ed and Al and was glad to see that they had both relaxed.

He was supposed to be upset with the older brother, but at the same time, seeing them laugh lifted a weight that he hadn't realized had been placed on his shoulders.

Damn, this parenting stuff was hard.

It had only been a day. Surely, he was supposed to still be upset about Ed getting into a fight after so little time. He wasn't supposed to be laughing about it and rewarding it with Gracia's cooking. And yet, the greater part of him didn't want to bother worrying about it anymore.

Perhaps he related to the kid more than he would like to admit. If he thought there was a chance that it could happen again the moment he turned his back, he might have felt more inclined to do something more.

Since becoming their legal guardian, he had forced himself to double and triple check every decision he made, just in case there could be some future repercussions. But for the most part, Roy was sure he was just making every little thing much more confusing that it needed to be.

Regardless, Roy _hmph_ed stubbornly as the others laughed lightly as his expense before the conversation drifted attention away from him and the entire fight situation in general. Al started talking to Ed about something, while Elicia started talking to her mother. When Maes didn't immediately shuffle closer to hear her, Roy glanced at his friend with a quirked brow.

Maes has pulled his phone out of his pocket and was looking at the screen under the table with a subtle frown. After a moment, he moved to type something and sighed under his breath before putting the device away and rejoining the conversation.

More work related matters, Roy assumed. There was nothing else that could drag Maes away from paying attention to his family for even a moment.

The colonel went back to his meal, nearly clearing off the plate by then as he listened idly to the surrounding conversations contently. After a moment, he rose his gaze when Gracia spoke up across the table.

"So what else have you boys been up to?" she asked pleasantly, her soft eyes on the two kids.

They both paused for a beat, unsure how to respond. "Nothing much," the older blond eventually replied after a shared glance.

"Uh, lately we've been wanting to look more into alchemy," Al followed and looked up at Roy hopefully, with Ed glancing at him soon after.

"Like father like sons," Roy heard Maes say with one of the biggest, dumbest grins he had ever seen. Roy hastily decided to ignore the man.

"I don't think I should be showing you kids anything like that so soon after getting into a fight," he said coolly, quietly wishing he had more time to consider the topic.

"But that's not fair," Ed spoke up insistently. "Al didn't do anything."

"Doesn't matter. I can't imagine how showing only one of you my alchemy research could go well anyway."

Edward looked like he wanted to argue, and Roy fully expected him to. But after a moment, he clamped his mouth shut and slouched his shoulders slightly, eyes dropping to look at the table. Roy wasn't sure if the Hugheses noticed the subtle change in comportment, but he and Al definitely did.

Refusing to give them free reign to his library was not new, and never before had it caused such a deflated reaction. They shouldn't have been surprised. Roy gave him a curious look, wondering what could have possibly been going through his mind. He was fine just a moment ago. And while his reaction was subtle, it still caused Roy to worry. Maybe it was just the fact that he was using the fight as an excuse to postpone the topic, but he couldn't fight off the sneaking suspicion that there was something else behind the scenes as well.

Was this something he actually needed to worry about? Was he overanalyzing things? Just overreacting? God, Roy was making a mess of things; he was sure of it.

He thought back to the nightmare Edward had a few nights ago. Before that, it had been a while since he woke up in the middle of the night, and he had begun to hope that phase had passed. But that was all it was: hopeful thinking.

No, there had to be something else that was bothering the kid; something he wasn't telling them. And whatever it was, Roy was going to find out eventually.

"Well on that happy note-" Maes cut in, seemingly unbothered by the mild tension in the air as he effortlessly waved it away. "-who's ready for dessert?"

"Me, me, me!" Elicia chanted, from the other side of the table as her father stood up.

"I got ice cream!" he announced jovially as he disappeared into the kitchen.

The two boys, Roy noticed out of the corner of his eye, seemed to move on from the earlier topic, thankfully distracted by the promise of ice cream- at least for the time being. And for that, Roy was glad. They could worry about everything else later, but for now, it was best to just enjoy the present.


	6. Chapter 6

Alphonse was… unsure.

About many things, really, but he didn't know how to best categorize them. It seemed like he was missing something. He was out of the loop, but wasn't confident that this loop actually existed in the first place.

He sat in the back seat of the black sedan that had quickly become familiar, watching the sunset cast contrasting shadows across the city as they drove by. He turned his head and glanced at the other two occupants, noting the semi-comfortable silence that drifted between them. Ed was leaning against the other car door with his eyes closed, still tired from the day's practice session. He had been working hard to make up for the fight he had with Mark, but they managed to resolve the issue- at least, as resolved as it was going to get. Before practice had started, they both managed to trade muttered, half-reluctant apologies. Somehow, that was enough to put the whole thing behind them. Whether their parents agreed or not was another story, however.

Speaking of which, Roy- his dad, Al added with a small smile- was driving with one hand, while his other elbow was propped against the frame of the door and holding most of his weight. He seemed exhausted and didn't manage much more than customarily asking how practice went.

That was fine; Alphonse wasn't going to pester him.

Although, he would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about what was draining their guardian. Most days were fine, but these past few seemed to be especially tiring. He recalled overhearing him and Mr. Hughes discussing something work related last Saturday. He had a feeling that they were both much more involved in the riots he had only heard snippets about. They had said that this was going to be a busy week; it seemed they were right.

But knowing that Roy was involved it something that sounded so dangerous was… worrying. Al knew he lacked the power to do something about it, but he wished he could at the very least know what was happening. Although, he supposed he really just wanted to be told that it wasn't a big deal; that the events occurring across town sounded worse than they truly were.

If only he knew more about what the man did on a day to day basis.

He was a State Alchemist, but only complained about drowning in paperwork. There had to have been some amount of fieldwork, right? But if there were, was Roy ever going to talk about it?

Probably not.

Alphonse knew it was for his and Ed's peace of mind, but not knowing still bothered him.

Meanwhile, his brother had been acting strange lately as well. There have been nights where he had woken up and looked around to see nothing out of the ordinary, but couldn't fend off the suspicion that Ed, curled tightly in his bed across the room and gripping the sheets taut, was only feigning sleep. He could never prove it, lest he be mistaken and accidentally wake his brother up. Plus, there was the rare occasion where he would wake to see Edward missing completely. He would usually return to the room and collapse into his bed before Al could consider looking for him, but the fact that there was a trend was unnerving.

He knew his brother suffered from nightmares, but he was never eager to talk about it. Besides, Al had endured his fair share during and after their time spent in the orphanage as well.

He was never as outspoken as Edward. The matron didn't see him as a target, especially when he stood next to Ed, who was adamant about fighting and rebelling against them at any chance he got. Al couldn't blame him for that; they were horrible to the many kids in their care. But he usually found himself too busy trying to persuade Ed to keep quiet to do much else. If it weren't for their involvement in closing the entire facility down, he probably would have regretted not sticking up for more people. But it was the best choice at the time, given the circumstances. They had to stay as under the radar as possible to collect evidence, which wasn't an easy task when Edward was often so impulsive.

But with that in mind, Alphonse couldn't understand what was currently bothering him. Brother was quieter than usual, which only happened when there was something heavy on his mind. It couldn't have been the fight or the nightmares- or at least, it couldn't have been _only_ those two things. There was something else; something Ed wasn't telling him.

Perhaps it made him nosey, poking into issues where he did not belong, but Ed was his brother, and he had a right to know when there was a problem.

He began making mental preparations up until the car was parked and they all walked up the driveway. Roy had already shrugged off his jacket before they reached the front door, radiating with a profound weariness.

"I'll… figure out dinner in a bit," he said, then stifled a yawn.

Al nodded and followed Ed towards their room, expecting to hear a pizza delivery guy knock on the door in a few hours. Roy wasn't usually too creative with dinner when he was this tired. But even so, Alphonse didn't care to fault him for it.

The two brothers left their dad to his own devices and fled to their room. Edward immediately collapsed onto his own bed and folded his arms behind his head.

Alphonse lingered in the middle of the room for a moment, eyes drifting over his brother and then onto their shared bookcase. After a moment, he pulled out the only book they managed to bring with them from their first home and brought it to his bed. He absently skimmed through the familiar pages.

That particular book held the bare-bone basics of alchemy; one of the few of their father's vast collection that they were able to understand at that age, before they were taken to the orphanage. It was a miracle it never got confiscated while they were there, although there were some close calls.

Edward glanced over, recognizing the cover immediately. A few peaceful seconds passed as Al shifted through the information that had since become elementary to them.

"Wish we had something a little more advanced," his brother huffed impassively, rolling his head to stare up at the ceiling. He didn't have to speak plainly for Al to hear the subtle blame being placed on Roy.

It couldn't have been helped. Al didn't try to defend their guardian because of it. It was an undeniable truth that Roy's lack of interest in teaching them himself was slowing them down. But neither Ed or Al could hold it against him, because they knew why he hesitated.

Roy's role in the civil war a few years back came to light around the time he proposed the idea of adoption. Al suspected that he had been dueling with the concept for quite some time before he finally brought it up. He had said that he needed to warn them about his past- the crimes he had committed- before allowing them to make any kind of decision.

They knew about the war, of course. They knew how terribly violent it was; it was a massacre of the Ishvalan people, no matter how the politicians in the military decided to paint it. But Roy never pretended that the war or his contributions to it were just. The man was unable to fully hide his own disgust as he explained, and hearing it certainly wasn't pleasant for them.

But that was exactly why they were always sure not to push him too hard for more alchemy resources. Roy made it perfectly clear how destructive alchemy could be- especially his own unique form. But Ed and Al knew it could be used to help people too, which was probably why the man had never strictly turned them down.

It was always _later, some other time, not today_.

Alphonse was content with waiting, but Edward always seemed a little less patient; which wasn't surprising, knowing him. But he's been pushing for it less than usual. He usually argue or put up a fight, simply for the banter if nothing else.

"We'll get him to budge eventually," Al replied easily, not taking his eyes off of the familiar text. Ed didn't respond; he knew it was true even if he wouldn't say so.

The very fact that Roy scarcely stopped them from doing their own self studies proved it. But that was where the difference was; he didn't disapprove, but he didn't want to teach them. Not yet, anyway. Learning from books and off of each other was one thing, but nothing could possibly beat having a teacher.

Roy was scared, they both tacitly knew. Scared of what could become of teaching them such a dangerous art. Alphonse imagined other parents felt the same about teaching their kids out to drive.

"But that's not what's really been bothering you, is it?" Al asked, less of a question and more of a statement.

Ed didn't respond right away; didn't move from staring up at the ceiling. He was still for several beats, making Al wonder if he needed to speak louder.

"Don't worry about it, Al," he eventually said, tone even and expression unreadable.

"Me being worried isn't the problem, Brother," he huffed from his side of the room. "I know something's up, and it's not good to keep it all bottled up, no matter what it is."

"It's nothing," Edward insisted relentlessly as he pushed himself up enough to look at Alphonse, supporting himself with his elbows.

The younger brother frowned. "You need to be honest-"

"Hey," Ed started suddenly, cutting him off by surprise, a desperate sort of gleam in his thoughtful eyes as he paused for a beat. "That weird guy we saw at the park last week… You think he was like a _normal_ weird, or _especially_ weird?"

Al's thoughts were forcefully pulled back to the suspicious figure they saw watching them at the park as he mentally reeled back to keep up with the older brother. That particular topic was one of the last thing he expected to hear just then. He thought about it for a moment, then shook his head when he caught on to Ed's game. "Don't try to change the subject! Besides, I already told Dad about that."

Edward made a face and dropped his head back down onto his pillow.

Al watched him for a moment longer and sighed when he didn't get a response. "You're the one that's been acting weird. Come on, Brother, I'm just concerned."

"I'm not acting weird."

Al narrowed his eyes. More often than not, he might have dropped the topic and settled for observing, but he was getting tired of just watching. The more Ed clammed up, the more worried he couldn't help but feel.

"So you're saying it's normal for you to get this quiet and not argue with Dad whenever possible, which is clearly your favorite pastime? Or that it's normal to be getting into fist fights with our own teammates?"

"…wouldn't be the first fight I've gotten into," his brother murmured, eyes straying on the wall.

"That's not the point."

"Then what _is_ the point, Al?" Ed asked, tone verging on snappish as he sat up and stared at the younger brother.

"The _point_-" Al started and he shifted to sit on the edge of his bed and returned Ed's gaze- "is that you need to talk to me."

The two shared a silent staring match for what felt like several long seconds. Then finally, Edward's eyes narrowed. "Fine," he relented with a stubborn huff. "_Fine_, Al. Something has been bothering me, but I don't want to think about it, let alone talk about."

"But you've been thinking about it anyway," Alphonse pointed out.

"Not by choice," Ed muttered almost too quietly to make out. He then brought up a knee and folded his arms on it. He opened his mouth to elaborate, but visually hesitated for a moment as if whatever he wanted to say was physically painful. "…I think I've been acting like a burden on Roy, but I… can't seem to stop."

Alphonse blinked, stunned into silence by the hint of vulnerability and regret he heard in his brother's voice.

"I keep telling myself that I'm being stupid, but then there was that fight and those damn nightmares…" he trailed off and shook his head. "I thought it was fine since he hasn't said anything, but he's been so tired lately."

"That's not your fault," Alphonse insisted hastily.

"Uh huh."

The younger blond furrowed his brow at his brother's impassive response. "I think you should talk to him about it."

"No way."

"Ed-"

"There's nothing to talk about. Besides, he's already so busy and preoccupied. I'm not gonna bother him even more with this."

"I'm certain he wouldn't mind," Al said with a frown.

"You don't know that."

"You're not even giving him a chance to tell you for sure."

Ed had no quick response and dropped his clearly annoyed gaze to the floor and groaned. "Fine," he drawled stubbornly. "I'll… bring it up… eventually."

"Brother," Al started, unconvinced.

"Take it or leave it, Al; it's the best you're gonna get." Ed smirked when he saw the younger blond pout. "Besides, I just want to focus on the game coming up. The fewer distractions, the better."

With that said, Alphonse softened his critical expression in understanding. "Well, alright… but if you're still feeling like this afterward, you need to bring it up."

"Yeah."

Alphonse did not that the terse response to be very encouraging, but he decided to let the matter drop for the time being. He was sure Edward was just afraid of saying something that would leave himself emotionally exposed- afraid of the reaction he would get.

But Al wasn't worried. He knew Roy didn't see them as a burden, just as he knew everything would sort itself out eventually.

* * *

Roy collapsed into the armchair and immediately brought a hand up to massage away his headache as the other held his phone.

"You're kidding," he said, deadpan, into the line.

"Afraid not," Maes replied in turn, tone properly despondent.

"It just had to be Saturday," he groaned, sliding further down into the cushions of the chair.

They had been tracking communications passed between the people who seemed to be causing the recent surge of riots, and learned that they would be all meeting in person soon. Maes had called to surreptitiously warn him that they discovered the day of this meeting to be Saturday- the day of his kids' final game of the season. He had already been assigned to the case and was expected to crash the meeting; there was no getting out of it.

The two sat in silence on the phone for a moment.

"What time?" he asked tersely after a moment.

"I don't have the exact time yet, but early," his friend replied regretfully.

Roy's mind swirled as he tapped his foot in thought. "If I handle it quickly, maybe I could make the second half…could let Hawkeye deal with the details."

Maes chuckled. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind, if it's for Ed and Al. Those two have worked wonders for getting you out of doing extra work."

Roy scoffed, but couldn't quite deny it. However, the amused smile quickly fell from his face as he continued to wonder how he would work the situation out. There was no telling how long it would take to deal with the operation, but he knew the two kids wanted him at the game just as badly as he did.

His eyes were drawn to the window by movement just as the pizza delivery car pulled up alongside the driveway.

"Well, thanks for letting me know, Maes. I need to go get dinner ready," he said with only a hint of weariness, which Roy considered to be an accomplishment.

Somehow, he could hear his friend's smug grin through the phone. "You ordered delivery food, didn't you?"

"Shut up."

Maes laughed and Roy rolled his eyes. "Alright, Roy, have fun with all that. See you tomorrow."

The colonel bid his friend a goodnight and began to fetch his wallet to pay for the pizza, decisively telling himself not to bring up his potential absence from the last game to the boys until he could figure out the details.

* * *

**Here marks as far as I have written. I'm gonna try to keep up with weekly update, but we'll see how that goes. (also might change update day to Thursday) Thanks for showing this fic so much love, my dudes!**


	7. Chapter 7

**So I'm officially changing the update day to Thursday's. Also please excuse any typos that might be in this one... many of the vowels on my laptop are not working? I had to type half of this on my phone, send it over, and then fix some typos by copy/pasting in a single letter at a time. Not a fun time. And that's also why I wasn't able to reply to all of the reviews. But know I appreciate all the feedback!**

* * *

The morning of their final game started off on a strange note when Ed and Al woke up to Roy knocking softly, almost hesitantly, on their door and telling them that they would need to leave about an hour earlier than usual. The colonel left it at that and fled down the hall, leaving the two blonds to ponder as they got up.

Later, when Ed and his brother were eating breakfast, Roy came down dressed in his full uniform and a subtly regrettable expression as they all came to the same conclusion.

"You're going to work?" Al asked quietly after a moment.

Roy nodded slowly and lingered by the coffee machine for a moment before moving to start it up. "It's important; no getting out of it," he said with a sigh, making it clearly evident how much he wasn't looking forward to going. "I'll try to make it back by halftime," he added, smiling thinly at them over his shoulder.

"Oh, okay," Al responded, dropping his gaze despondently back down to his bowl of cereal.

Edward watched them both, unsure what to say. The air started to grow tense and Roy seemed to be struggling with just the same thing, so he spat out the first thing that came to mind. "What's going on?" he asked, despite assuming Roy wouldn't share anything.

Their guardian watched him for a moment, his visage surprisingly transparent. He spared a moment to consider a response, then turned back to fiddle with the coffee maker. "…it pertains to the riots that have been breaking out lately. If I could have changed it to any other day, I would have." He tapped his fingers across the counter for a moment as the machine began to hum, then decisively turned to face the two. "I'm sorry about this," he breathed wearily. "I promise I'll try to get back as soon as possible."

Edward blinked, finding himself become more and more surprised as the man continued. Besides him, Al offered a weak smile, but was quite clearly bummed. Ed steeled himself and took a breath. "It's fine," he said, shoving as much certainty into his voice as possible, causing the two to glance at him. "There will be more games, anyway. It's not a big deal. The part at the end where we wave around our trophies is really all that matters anyway." With that said, he grinned, hoping to dissolve some of the stiffness in the air. Both Roy and Al smiled gratefully at him.

"That's right," Roy agreed with a soft chuckle. "And no matter what happens, I hope you both know that I'm proud of you for keeping this up."

Edward felt his face heat up and he quickly turned his attention back down to his bowl of cereal.

Pride? Surely just playing a sport wasn't enough to garner pride. Besides, he even got into a fight last week. He could bet Roy wasn't so proud then.

He shook his head, telling that little voice in the back of his mind to shut the hell up. Let himself enjoy the compliment, damn it.

"Thanks, Dad," he heard Al beam besides him.

He swallowed a spoonful of cereal and glanced up at the man, who appeared to be much more at ease than when he first walked in. "Yeah," Ed grinned. "Thanks."

* * *

Ed and Al watched their guardian drive off after arriving at the park, going at speeds that were possibly not entirely street legal. They shared a quick uncertain glance, then turned to approach the clearing where their games were held. However, having arrived so early, they were the first ones there and the field had yet to get set up.

Unsurprising, they decided, and settled down at a park bench to kill time.

It felt like ages had passed by the time two more cars rolled up and they noticed both their coach as well as one of the people who often acted as referee approach the field. The referee was a mildly familiar woman donning the iconic yellow and black jersey, and was holding a duffel bag filled with field markers. She mostly ignored the two blonds and walked on, but Coach Mercer gave them a wide wave and approached.

"Good morning," he greeted amiably, despite the time drawing so close to noon. "What are you two doing here so early? And-" he paused for a beat to look around the field. "-where's Roy?"

"He had to do some work thing," Edward shrugged, forcing a hint of indifference into his comportment. "Said he'd be back around halftime."

"Oh? Nothing too pressing, I hope," the coach offered with a sympathetic smile, no doubt thinking that the two kids didn't have an answer.

Ed glanced at his brother, who also didn't seem to have any intention of going into detail.

"It's probably nothing," Al replied after a moment, though without as much confidence as he was surely hoping for.

It was refreshing to actually be given a small bit of information regarding Roy's work for once, but hearing confirmation that he was indeed dealing with the riots was equally as worrying. Edward tried to keep his irrational fears in check. It wasn't like Roy ever came home hurt or expressed that he might have been in any way before. Chances were, he was shifting through reports with Hughes, or whatever it was those two did.

"That's good," Couch Mercer responded easily. "How are you two doing? Ready for the final game of the season?"

Thankful for the change in topic, both he and Al brightened. "You bet," Al exclaimed as Ed nodded eagerly.

"Good to hear it," the older man grinned and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Speaking of which, I planned on talking to everyone about this, but I figured I'd let you two know now since you're here; I'll be coaching at one of the schools around here when classes start up again in about a month, so I thought I'd keep the weekly practices going for anyone who's going to stick with soccer. You two are more than welcome to come, if you're interested."

Edward paused as he processed what was just said. Since being tossed into the orphanage, he hadn't given school sports and clubs a second thought. When Roy first suggested getting involved in soccer for the summer, he initially treated it as if it was just like everything else in his life: temporary.

He looked over to Alphonse, who looked to be just as intrigued in the idea as he was.

"We'll talk to Roy about it," Edward said as he looked back up at the coach, who nodded in response.

"Great! Now, I'm going to help set up the field. The others will probably get here soon enough." The brothers agreed and watched as Andrew Mercer left to join the yellow clad referee in the middle of the field.

It wasn't until several more minutes passed when more kids and their familes started to arrive, as well people from the other team who set themselves up on the opposite side of the field. Watching the park populate itself settled some of the unease that was forming in Ed's stomach. Nerves of the impending game mixed with wandering thoughts regarding Roy's absence, no doubt. He was more than happy to join the others in mindless conversation as they waited for the start of the game to draw closer.

The game was beginning before he knew it, and yet Edward still found himself glancing to the sidelines in hopes of catching sight of Roy despite knowing it was in vain. He shook his head and forced himself to focus on the present- what was right in front of him. That was all that mattered at the moment.

Ed looked up to see that the coach had just finished his motivational final speech to the team and sent everyone to their designated positions. He looked to his teammates, all who shared expressions that ranged from stoic and confident, to excited. Even Alphonse, as he walked over to his midfield position, seemed to be completely focused.

_Focus, Ed,_ he chided himself as he moved across the grass to his position as well. It was the final game. All or nothing. _Focus!_

The seconds before the whistle would be blown were counting down. Edward stood center field, dividing the blue-clad opponents from his teammates. He closed his eyes for a moment and controlled his steady breathing.

_In and out._

His eyes opened and settled on the enemies who stood several meters away. He tried to study their stances, figure out what their strategy was. But like with so many other things, nothing could possible beat first-hand experience.

The shrill chirp of the whistle cut through his thoughts. Immediately, his mind cleared of all worries and concerns besides what he saw right in front of him.

He charged for the ball, his fellow offenders matching his speed on either end of the field. But just as they did, so too did the enemy offenders, who had won the coin toss and started with the ball. In the two seconds it took Edward to steal the ball and kick it across to his teammate, a cacophony of thoughts and emotions raced through his head.

The fear of failure.

His thirst for victory.

The little voice in the back of his head that reminded him Roy was not present.

He charged into enemy territory as they focused on those who had the ball, allowing him to create an open space for himself. He waved his arms to get his teammate's attention, and watched as they raced and fought to get around their attackers to pass him the ball. But in doing so, an enemy midfielder noticed his presence and was quick to block him off from his team. He countered by stepping around them, hoping to stay in the other kid's blind spot as they all kept their eyes on the ball. They had begun some kind of dance, each taking steps to respond to the other. It did not stop until the ball was kicked away from the other red offender, and closer to their goal.

The enemy midfielder left him to join the others, leaving Ed to hover around the center field. Even when the ball and therefore everyone else was nearing their goal, Edward's role demanded he never go further back than the center field. He had to watch and wait, and trust the rest of his team to turn the situation around.

He glanced at the other two offenders, who looked just as impatient as he. Sending the occasional glance at the enemy defenders that also lingered around them.

Edward peered through the mess of soccer players over on the other end of the field, all fighting for the ball, and spotted his brother in the thick of it. Alphonse managed to swipe the ball out from under an enemy offender who was about to break away and go for the goal. But before he could get very far, someone else managed to hook their foot around the ball and trip Al in the process. He tumbled in the grass as the small crowd of red and blue uniforms moved away.

Edward felt himself take a step closer, wanting to get involved and contribute; make sure Al was okay, but he held himself back.

The younger blond pushed himself to his feet and rejoined the fray. But with him needing to catch up and the defenders hanging back to protect the goal, there were not many on the red team who were available to stop the blue team from positioning themselves accordingly.

It was easy to see for Edward as he watched from a distance. He knew exactly what they were doing, but knew it was much harder to discern when in the thick of it.

One offender had the ball and was approaching the goal, with the goalie watching him intently. The defenders made their approach, but their opponent quickly sidestepped and kicked the ball to the other side of the goal where another blue-clad offender waited. With that side of the goal unprotected, it was shot into the net without much resistance.

A whistle was blown, calling for the players to reset.

Zero to one. Not off to a good start.

Alphonse looked to agree, based on his expression as they wall walked back to their spots. Edward shot him a nod that assured they'd catch up. They had too.

* * *

One to one.

They managed to get a tie by the time halftime rolled around.

It was close.

Far too close for comfort. Seconds remained when Mark managed to score their first goal. (With Ed's help, of course.)

But as they sat on the border of the field, downing bottles of water, Ed and Al kept their eyes locked on the parking lot, hoping to see that familiar black sedan drive up.

It never did.

Coach Mercer noticed their despondent appearances from where he stood a few meters away, talking to some of the other parents, and merely shot them a sympathetic smile.

Some of the soccer moms took notice as well. So far, they had been approached twice with questions regarding where Roy was, if they were alright, and so on. Neither he or Al wanted to make anyone else worry, and tacitly agreed to smile through it.

It was comical, however. He was pretty sure some of them had little crushes on Roy. And he clearly enjoyed it, often proclaiming that kids were a great way to land dates. Something about looking like a self-sacrificing father.

His train of thought hit a halt as the word _father _came to mind. Something in his chest coiled uncomfortably, and he forced the thought aside.

_Where was he...?_

Edward didn't want to seem needy. He was already struggling to understand their relationship, and this certainly would not help. If it were any normal game, he wouldn't mind. But this was the final game. The most important game of the season.

Roy should have been there- for Al, if not for him.

He promised he would return as soon as possible, and yet he was nowhere to be seen. Logically, it was safe to assume that whatever work thing he was doing took much longer than expected, and it could not have been helped. He knew that. And yet the thought of standing over a crowd with their medals in the air, knowing not a single person there was there for them, pulled at an old wound in his chest that was too reminiscent of his days at the orphanage.

But there was still time. As he told Roy, the end was really all that mattered, even though they would both rather he be there for the game itself.

"It'll be alright," Alphonse said softly beside him as they sat in the grass with water bottles in their hands. Ed glanced over, and knew Alphonse was fighting just as fiercely to keep himself from getting upset. "Dad said he's proud of us, remember?" he said with a genuine smile. "We gotta give it our all even if he's not here."

Edward inhaled deeply and steeled himself with a confident grin. "You're right. Let's win this thing."

* * *

Two to two.

Sometimes when the ball was getting dangerously close to their goal and whoever had it couldn't find a way to escape their pursuers, it was better to just kick it out of bounds. Starting the next round would give the opposite team a bit of an advantage, but it kept them front getting another point.

That was exactly what happened seconds before the game would had ended, had they not been tied. It went into overtime, giving everyone more time to break the tie.

Edward was relieved. Not just because it gave the team a second chance, but because it gave Roy more time to get to the park. He wasn't able to stop himself from glancing over at the parking lot every few minutes, still to no avail. But maybe going into overtime was a stroke of good luck.

But as they prepared themselves for the next round to start, he couldn't allow himself the time to worry about it. The whistle was blown, and he ran.

* * *

Three to two.

They did it. They won to game.

In the final moments, Thoughts of making both Al and Roy proud cycled through his head, and Edward charger through enemy territory, despite how his legs ached and his lungs burned. He ran and ran and jumped around enemy defenders. He passed the ball to a teammate to distract the opponents only for it to be shot back to him just in time for him to kick it into the goal with a resounding _swoosh_. The cheers of spectators and teammates alike were muffled by the pounding he heard in his head and his own breathing. The whistle that ended the game sliced through the fog, and everything began to sink in.

They won.

He did it.

Ed glanced at Al who was much further down, cheering with the other midfielders, throwing their hands into the air. Then, due to sheer habit, he looked back into the row of parents, eyes scanning them for Roy.

It hit him very quickly that Roy never showed up.

The next few minutes were a confused, exhausted daze, until he blinked and found himself standing shoulder to shoulder with his teammates with heavy, shiny medals hanging around their necks.

Their coach came around to stand behind the group, and it occurred to Edward that they were taking a team picture. He smiled on instinct without much thought, simply because it was expected, but his mind was elsewhere.

There was cheering and celebrating and snacks were being passed out. Everyone spoke jovially, but he and Alphonse couldn't join in as easily. But nor did they want to give away their thoughts, and damper everyone's mood with their own problems.

And was it _really _a problem to begin with? Roy couldn't come to their last time. So what?

It was just soccer.

Just a thing they did to stay fit and pass time.

He had to work. They knew that. Roy's real world obligations came first. It was probably important, whatever it was he was doing.

Ed and Al walked to the sidelines where they left their small pile of belongings, regretfully turning down offers to join the others for lunch, and vaguely shrugging to the parents who again asked where Roy was.

Ed knelt down into the grass and picked up his cell phone, and turned it on.

No notifications.

It wasn't until he stared down at the empty screen for several long seconds did he begin to wonder if something could truly be _wrong_.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! So sorry that I had to skip the update last week so suddenly. For those who did not see the note on my profile or the few review replies I managed to get out, I went and spilled water on my laptop- while writing this chapter, no less. It was getting old anyway, so I got a new fancy laptop yesterday, finished writing thanks to icloud, and here we are. Back on schedule! Enjoy!**

* * *

Edward and Alphonse returned to the small brick wall that encircled parts of the field, sitting on it solemnly as the hot afternoon sun drifted overhead, preparing to descend. Every one of their teammates had already left, all likely planning on meeting at a pizza place or something to celebrate. Just about every kid who walked past to head to their designated vehicles asked if they would be seeing the two brothers at whatever fun place they were heading to. Every time they turned the offer down, each rejection sounding more despondent than the last.

Because the game had long since ended, and Roy was nowhere to be seen despite promising otherwise. For a moment, Ed wondered if there had been anything he had done or said to the man recently that made the final game seem unbearable to attend. Somehow, he would much rather blame himself than dare to think that something bad had happened to their guardian. But nothing else made much sense.

Edward's medal felt heavy around his neck.

He looked down to his cell phone that was tightly clenched in both hands in his lap, begging for it to ring or buzz or something- anything. Calling Roy earlier did no favors for his fraying nerves; it went straight to voicemail.

Calling Maes came to mind, but he realized a moment later that he had never saved his number, which he now silently cursed himself for. Ed remembered Roy once suggesting the idea _just in case_, but Edward had ignored it at the time. He never thought he would need it. He decided to remedy that as soon as this was over. Whatever _this_ turned out to be, anyway.

The brothers looked over their shoulders at the sound of oncoming voices. The referee and Coach Mercer were talking idly as they approached the parking lot, leaving the empty field behind them. They exchanged their goodbyes and the yellow-clad woman turned and walked away, as the coach, continued on his own path. But as his eyes fell on the two blonds, he froze and again looked around the deserted park in search for their guardian. When he failed to find the man in question, he advanced on the two kids with a hint of hesitation and a frown.

"Are you two alright?" he asked after a beat.

Immediately, the thought of admitting that they were alone and unsure (and god forbid he admit _scared_) caused his insides to twist uncomfortably. He didn't want to drag anyone into their problems. Besides, there was nothing the coach could do for them. He refused to shackle the man here with them when it would do no good.

"We're fine," he said with a fragile smile before Alphonse could say anything. "He's just running late."

The coach sent him a dubious look, all too unconvinced. He then pursed his lip for a moment and let his eyes stray over their heads, looking to be deep in thought for a moment. "Are you sure? I could drive you home."

Immediately every part of him wanted to reject the offer. Do not inconvenience him. Do not drag him into this. The thoughts hit him so suddenly and violently that he didn't once stop to so much as glance in Al's direction to see what his opinion of the matter was. Instead, he shook his head and insisted "no, it's okay. He'll be here any minute," lying through his teeth against hope.

The coach watched them curiously for a moment longer, shifting on his feet uncertainly. "If you're sure," he said after several beats, frown still firmly in place.

Of course he wasn't sure. But he had already insisted. If he backed out now, the coach would know he was lying, and hell, he still had no idea- maybe Roy really was right around the corner!

With a dead cellphone.

And the charger he always kept in his car was suddenly broken.

Yeah…

He glanced over at his brother but wasn't able to read his expression with how rapidly his mind was spinning at the moment, and had his attention pulled back to the coach when he shifted, reminding Ed to respond. "Yep," he said quickly, tersely, knowing he couldn't keep the false confidence in his voice for long if he were to say more.

"Alright," Mercer eventually relented, albeit reluctantly. He strayed a moment longer however, clearly deep in thought, before mutely sighing. "Then I'll see you two later," he added with a thin smile.

The two agreed and the man went on his way, surely not missing how strangely Ed was sure he acted. But with no longer being interrogated, he released a deep and wary breath and sunk his shoulders. Beside him, he felt Al glance at him as if he was itching to say something, but it never came. Edward had a few good guesses as to what he was thinking and had no desire to ask him to vocalize it.

Instead, the brothers sat in relative silence for another fifteen minutes. For a twelve and thirteen year old, fifteen uneventful minutes felt like an eternity passing in slow motion. A long, painfully boring eternity that was unsurprisingly filled with doubt and building fear.

It did not take long for Ed to regret refusing the coaches offer.

It began to get harder to keep track of time; the less he looked at his phone, the more he questioned what they were really waiting for. If all of this waiting around was in vain, and they should really pull their own hopes back down to reality before they ended up crashing.

"Maybe we should start walking," the older brother suggested quietly with a questioning lilt, eyes staring idly out at the city.

"But what if he comes back?" Al asked, just as Ed knew he would. Despite that, he did not have an immediate answer. The suggestion was quickly forgotten.

He let the silent drift on, broken only by distant birds chirping and cars driving nearby. His mind tumbled for a solution yet felt leaden and foggy thanks to the racing uncertainty. "We can't stay here forever," he said vaguely instead when a proper answer refused to come to him. Almost half an hour had passed since the game ended, and there was still no sign of Roy's car. His phone still went straight to voicemail. They still had no idea what to do.

Finding a bus stop came to mind, but neither of them had any money or any idea what the bus routes were like.

So, they continued to sit and wait, their thoughts becoming unavoidably more dour with every passing minute.

"What if something bad happened?" Alphonse asked quietly as he dropped his gaze to stare absently at his hands as he wrung them in his lap. Edward was nervously wondering the same thing, but somehow hearing Al vocalize it made something squirm in his gut.

"He just throws paper around in an office all day. What could possibly happen?" He asked back rhetorically, stubbornly, as if he meant to shield his brother from the possibilities. As the words left his mouth, he knew it was sheer nonsense. The chances of Roy being called into work on a weekend just to sign some papers was unlikely enough as is.

He knew Al could see through him like glass, especially with how the younger blond just scrutinized him in silence for a moment. "He missed the entire game and can't even pick up his phone. He wouldn't let us go on this long without answers unless something was stopping him."

Edward frowned. He knew their situation just as well as Al did, but he wants to keep denying it until it wasn't true anymore. He wanted to say _I know._ He wanted to pretend everything was okay. He wanted to blame and yell at Roy for making them worry. But still, he wanted to say nothing at all.

Ed opened his mouth in spite of having no idea what would come out but was interrupted by the sudden buzz of his phone and the rush of excitement and fear and foreboding adrenaline and hit him all in an instant. He looked down at it, but his thoughts were put at pause when he saw an unknown number read across the screen. A withering sigh escaped though his teeth as his thumb hovered over the button to silence it.

"What if it has to do with Roy?" Al asked next to him in a hushed whisper, again voicing his own thoughts.

Ed hesitated quietly as he glared down at the unfamiliar number. He was always advised to ignore numbers he didn't know; they always ended up being telemarketers, mistaking his phone for that of an adult's. But when they have been sitting here, waiting for a phone call, ignoring one when he finally got it would just be foolish.

He steeled himself with a sharp exhale and answered the call and held it up to his ear, his heart suddenly pounding loudly, and listened for a moment before finally offering a terse "hello?"

"Edward?" an unfamiliar female voice asked in a rushed, yet focused tone. Definitely an adult, and very professional sounding. He frantically tried to match the voice to a face, but he was drawing a blank. But regardless, whoever this was had made the effort to contact him for a reason. His pulse only beat faster.

"Yeah," he answered almost breathlessly after deciding that this was no time to be anything but blunt and to the point. He was about to ask who he was talking to next, but she continued heedlessly, clearly not willing to waste any time.

"My name is Riza Hawkeye; I work under Roy Mustang." Edward was sure his heart jumped into his throat at the mention of their missing guardian. Suddenly this phone call felt incredibly daunting as he began to realize what it could have meant. He remembered that name- vaguely, but it rang in the back of his head as memories from his days at the orphanage came rushing back. She was with Roy when he was working undercover with them. "I'll explain everything later, but for now, you need to tell me where you are."

Ed stopped himself short of asking why Roy couldn't just tell her as the words _I'll explain everything later_ echoed again in his head. He swallowed his fearful questions for the time being in favor of moving things along. But with that said, he had no idea what the name of the park they were at was. It was always just _the park_, despite knowing there were multiples in the city. He looked around for a land mark until his eyes fell on the body of water that was about half a kilometer away from the field they played in, seen only through a heavy line of trees.

"Uhhh the park with the lake?"

A beat passed with no answer. It was only a brief second, and yet the fear and worry building in his chest grew exponentially larger. "Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't move." She barely waited for him to agree before hanging up the phone." He let the device fall back into his lap, arms now limp and eyes staring into space in thought.

"What was that?" Al asked urgently, leaning from where he sat on the wall to intently watch his brother.

Edward opened his mouth, a little too stunned to know where to start. He quickly shook his head and straightened up. "She said her name was Riza Hawkeye. Remember her from the orphanage?" They never interacted with her much. She was posing at Roy's wife at the time, since being married gave them a better chance of getting in. But as he spent most of their visits talking to the two brothers to get information, she was either snooping around, or did not attend altogether, surely keeping busy elsewhere as Roy continued the ruse.

Al blinked at him, then widened his eyes a beat later. "Yeah! What did she say?"

"She said she's going to pick us up and that she'll explain everything later," he answered, forcing himself to shrug almost nonchalantly.

Alphonse visibly blanched. "Well that's… concerning," he said carefully, sounding equally as stunned as Ed felt.

The older brother just nodded, unsure what else to say.

They were given painfully little to go off of, but overthinking it would only get them even more worried, if it were possible at that point.

Not even five minutes passed when a dark blue sedan pulled up into the empty parking lot. The driver stepped out, revealing it to be Riza Hawkeye. Ed remembered her blonde hair and how it was always neatly tied back, sometimes even while undercover. She was scanning the field by her car when the two both tacitly decided to get up and approach her. Once she spotted them coming, she offered a small wave and a thin, tired smile. "Hello boys. Please get in," she said simply, and climbed back into the driver's seat without another word.

Edward would be lying if he tried to claim that he wasn't nervous, or that his mind wasn't constantly racing with the possibilities. He glanced at Al, who gave him a simple nod back.

They didn't have much to lose anyway.

Ed and Al followed suit, climbing into the back seat of the car. Its inside was spotless, almost causing him to think that she had bought it earlier that day. But putting such mundane thoughts aside, they pulled over their seat belts, waiting for the ball to drop.

But then only a deafening silence drifted between then. Riza was staring ahead at the empty lot, flexing her nimble hands around the steering wheel. She then took a breath and shifted the car's gear into drive and began to turn out of the lot.

"I'm sorry it took so long for someone to get ahold of you. Roy is currently at Central Hospital. I'm taking you to see him."

Edward had almost screamed at her to hurry up and explain what was going on, but once she had spoken, he wished she never had. He felt the blood drain from his face as a seemingly bottomless pit formed in his gut. He blinked, feeling his lungs tighten, and glanced over at Al, who was just as stunned and frightened.

"What happened?!" he finally willed himself to ask stiffly, mouth gone terribly dry. "Is he okay?"

"He will be," she said quickly, keeping her eyes firmly on the road and she drove them through afternoon traffic. "I know the colonel doesn't talk about his work much with you two, but we were dealing with the rioters this morning."

"Y-yeah, he mentioned that," Al said quietly, back stiff as a board and eyes still wide. "He didn't go into detail though."

Hawkeye nodded slowly and pursed her lip in thought, no doubt debating how much they needed to know. "The people who have been organizing these riots were meeting in the warehouse district. We were tasked with ambushing and arresting them. It didn't go off as flawlessly as we had hoped. A firefight broke out and Roy was shot." She explained it calmly as if reading off a report, but she wasn't able to mask all of the regret and strain in her tone. The period of silence that followed was tense as several realities came crashing down.

Roy had been _shot_. While they were playing a game of soccer, he had been out risking his life for the safety of the city and was injured in the process. The realization took the wind out of him and he sank further into the seat and tensed his fists by his sides.

"B-but you said he'd be okay?" Al croaked out beside him, his voice overflowing with fear and worry and a thousand more unsaid questions.

"Yes. He was in surgery to have the bullet removed last I heard. Don't worry; some of the best doctors in the country are taking care of him."

Edward just nodded despite the woman not likely seeing the gesture. Her words had returned some breath back into his lungs, but his heart still raced just as quickly as his frazzled mind. He took a few deep breaths to calm the anxious whirlpool that was swirling in his chest, which seemed to help only marginally.

"However, I… I owe you two and apology." Hawkeye's voice trailed off, her tone leaden with hesitation that caused both boys to look up at her. The car pulled up to a red light and she shifted her weight and turned back to look at then, something remorseful and pained in her brown eyes. "I know you two have come to care about Roy, and he cares about you just as much. It's my job to keep him from harm, but I failed. I am sorry for allowing this to happen and for causing you two to worry. I would not fault you for blaming me."

She turned her attention back to the road just as the light turned green and traffic began to move forward once again, leaving the two kids nearly speechless from her confession

Suddenly, Edward had no idea what to say. The conversation had taken a turn into becoming something much more honest than what he was comfortable with.

"That's not fair, Mrs. Hawkeye," Alphonse thankfully replied in a voice was that still saddened and worried by the recent news, but with a light quality added to it as he smiled frailly at her through the mirror. "We can't really know what exactly happened, but neither of us are going to hold this against you." Al had a little too much tact to simply say that they wouldn't blame her unless she was the one who pulled the trigger, but that was probably for the best. Ed didn't really want to hear something like that be said at the moment anyway.

Edward just nodded in agreement.

She mulled over the younger brother's word for a moment, then smiled as she kept her eyes on the road. "Thank you," she said simply with a hint of finality in her tone, whether it was intentional or not. However, Ed got the feeling that she would continue to blame herself regardless.

The rest of the drive was not as talkative as the first five minutes, which wasn't really saying much. They tried asking for more details, but it quickly became apparent than the woman had not seen her superior officer since he had been pulled into an ambulance and didn't even have a good idea of where he had been shot. She had been busy tying up loose ends in place of the colonel, which happened to include getting in contact with his two adopted sons that had spent over half an hour waiting in an empty park.

She didn't have much to give when asked why his phone didn't ring. He kept it on even during fieldwork apparently, but maybe it was turned off and confiscated when he arrived at the hospital. Maybe it was left at the crime scene and died while unattended. Regardless, Ed could only wonder the hoops she had to jump through to find his phone number when the only person they suspected to know it was in surgery.

When they weren't asking questions that only served to make them more nervous, they sat quietly, exchanging occasional glances, trying to keep the worry from becoming overwhelming. Edward didn't think anything could really help it at the moment, but he at least didn't feel faint anymore.

The car began to slow and turned into a lot, prompting Ed to look out the window. He gazed up at the looming hospital, unable to dread of what he might find inside. As they drove by to park, his eyes fell over the many floors, the many windows, knowing that Roy was in there somewhere, with a bullet wound being poked and prodded and sewed back shut. The thought was nauseating. Not just the procedure itself, but all that it insinuated.

Their guardian wasn't as invincible as they liked to think.

It was one thing to admit that, and another entirely to have it shoved down his throat. No part of him thought he was ready to walk inside and find the man who had been taking care of them laying in a bleached hospital room with tubes sticking out everywhere. But Hawkeye didn't plan on stalling; before he knew it, the car had been parked and she had already stepped out, waiting for the two to catch up.

Edward shared a look with Alphonse, who looked no better. They were both as hesitant to step out and face the daunting truth- whatever it might be.

"You ready?" he heard himself ask before he could consider the words. He idly wondered if he was asking himself in addition to Al.

His brother shrugged, small, meek, far too young to be in this situation- not like Ed was much better. But he had to pretend he was at least, because he was the older brother. It was his job to be strong when Roy, the man who had become their shared pillar of support, was not there to do it instead. "As ready as I'm going to get," he answered slowly, eyes straying on the large building that waited for them.

Ed could only bring himself to nod, as he took a deep breath and decided to lead the charge. "Alright," he said mostly to himself and opened the car door.

Hawkeye waited for them patiently. When they both joined her outside, she turned and approached the building, with them following closely behind.


	9. Chapter 9

**Longest chapter yet! May that make up for not replying to many reviews ;u; Thanks for the support, everyone!**

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Roy was at the forefront of his team, as he so often was. He was never one to lead from the back. He liked to be front and center- center of attention, most importantly. Roy was used to being the most dangerous person in the room at almost any given time, which was a responsibility he took very seriously. All eyes were on him no matter where he was standing, so he might as well make it easier for everyone.

There, he could use his fire as a shield for himself and his soldiers; the men and women who followed him- the Flame Alchemist- into danger. He had a duty to protect them, even if it meant drawing the enemies fire. But when their battlefield was an old dusty warehouse instead of an endless blood-soaked desert, he wasn't worried.

He and his team stood just beyond the opened doorway, guns draw in an impenetrable wall, with himself at the helm of the group with a hand raised and threatening to snap. Their targets stood frozen around a cluttered work table with old forgotten supplies pushed aside to make room for whatever plans were splayed out in the center, their attention all drawn to the group of soldiers that had cornered them in the warehouse.

They certainly didn't look like mere concerned civilians, unlike the protesters they had taken advantage of. All five of them gave off a nefarious vibe that Roy wasn't at all surprised to notice, especially as his eyes fell on three handguns that had also been left on the table. There could have been more weapons lying around for all he knew, so he barked at them to line up against the wall with their arms raised.

They began to move, far too slowly for his taste. But it was as his eyes were locked on them that all hell broke loose. He hadn't been able to notice the sniper lurking in the darkness of the railings overhead. A foolish mistake on his part.

He remembered the sensation of being punched in his shoulder, throwing his concentrated aim off, and a sudden burst of sound erupted around him long before he could register the pain. A n outbreak of gunfire, the work table had been abruptly shoved onto its side with a loud clanging echo, and his body moved without thought.

He and his soldiers alike moved out of the center of the room, ducking behind support columns and storage crates. He remembered snapping; the heat and the sensation of preforming so many quickly timed transmutations always remained stained in his mind better than the finer details did once he had a moment to think back on it all.

It was all a blur now.

Roy heard echoes of his own voice calling out orders but had almost no memory of what he had said. None of it mattered anymore, but he supposed whatever he had said somehow helped, considering he was the only one of his team to end up in the hospital. Or at least, that's what he assumed through the foggy memories of he alone being hurried into the ambulance that Hawkeye assumedly called for him.

Roy opened his weary eyes and stared up at the white ceiling. His body felt numb, and his mind groggy and distant. He knew all he had to do was close his eyes and he could easily sleep for a few more hours, but there was too much to do; too many unanswered questions.

Ignoring the IV that he found in his arm with a hint of disdain, the colonel shifted his arms out from underneath the thin hospital blanket and began to push himself. However, he staggered in his attempt and dropped back down a moment later when his shoulder strained in objection.

Oh yeah, he had been shot.

Roy used his right arm to pull back the neck of his thin hospital shirt so he could warily examine the bandages that had been wrapped around his left shoulder. If that sniper had been closer to Riza's skill level, he would have been dead.

He shook his head to banish such chilling thoughts for the time being in favor of attempting to sit up again. He succeeded, though it took longer than he would have liked. And better yet, his efforts were rewarded with another dull pang of discomfort in his right leg. He prodded the area through the covers and felt more bandages, but not enough for anything more than a graze.

At least sitting up cleared some of the cotton from his head, allowing him to feel a semblance of coherence. He looked up at the digital clock on the wall and felt himself start when he read it was almost three in the afternoon, though a moment longer passed before he could catch up and remember why that was surprising.

It was morning, last he remembered.

And then another realization hit him.

Ed and Al- his kids. The game had already ended. He was supposed to be there!

Roy's heart began to pound as worry overtook him for several beats, all thoughts of the rioters forgotten. What did they do when he never showed up? Where they upset? They had to be; he promised he would see their final game and he let them down. How long would they have waited there for them? What were they doing? Did they try walking back home? What if some stranger offered them a ride while they were alone?

Too many questions raced through his mind for him to handle just by sitting there. His eyes scanned the nearby side tables but noticed, much to his chagrin, that his cell phone was nowhere to be seen.

A vague memory of realizing it went missing once he was shot in the leg flashed through his mind, quick to be dismissed. He had no time to worry about that now. _Adapt to the situation, Mustang._

Roy tossed the blanket aside and shifted to the edge of the bed, intending to limp his way to the nearest phone. But any beginning of a plan that he was starting to form paused in its tracks when the door was opened to reveal Hawkeye with Ed and Al in tow.

Immediately after the sight registered, he released a heavy sigh and his shoulders slacken with relief as he settled back down to sit on the edge of the bed. "Thank god," he breathed wearily as the burst of adrenaline faded just as quickly as it appeared, leaving him newly winded and tired.

Hawkeye looked like she was about to say something, but never got the words out when the two kids stepped passed her, eyeing him with a painful mix of terror and relief that made his chest tighten with regretful sympathy.

"Dad!" Al cried, tears already forming in his young eyes despite his attempt to blink them away as he charged into the room. He wrapped his arms around Roy's waist, burying his head into his chest, shoulders quivering with each shaken breath. "I'm so glad you're okay," he sniffed, grip tightening slightly.

Roy brought his uninjured arm around the boy's shoulders as his eyes drifted up at Edward. The older brother remained just a few steps away, his stance tense as if something was physically holding him from getting any closer. Roy may have just woken from a medically induced sleep only a few minutes ago, but he was still able to easily recognize that hesitation that he saw every time Ed thought he had to decide between sparing his pride and showing anyone besides his brother an ounce of affection. He knew how the kid felt about it- the discomfort that shown on his face every time Al referred to Roy as _Dad_, the attachment he could easily show that Ed was envious of… Roy couldn't say he didn't understand.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, noting quietly that Hawkeye had silently excused herself from the room. "You two shouldn't have to deal with this."

Neither of them responded; which was fair, he decided. Ed just smiled at him when they made eye contact. Or rather, _tried_ to smile. It was frail and unconvincing, as if to say "don't worry, I'm fine" when he was anything but. But when he still did not move, Roy rose his other hand to wave him over.

Ed looked startled at first as he stood still, dueling with some kind of internal battle, but eventually dropped his gaze to the floor and walked over. The moment he was close enough, Roy pulled him over so he could hug both of them at once. Al still tried weakly to compose himself, as Ed rubbed at his eyes for a moment before returning the embrace, thankfully deciding that his pride was not currently at risk.

"I'm sorry," he muttered again, more apologies being all he could think to say. "It's okay. I'm okay now." He couldn't begin to imagine how frightened they must have been once Riza told them he had been admitted into the hospital after getting shot. After already losing their parents… kid's their age should not have to consider such things. They shouldn't have to fear losing their parent figures, never mind it happening more than once.

But it was alright now, he told himself. He was safe and more importantly, his kids were safe, held in his own arms where nothing, even his own mistakes, could hurt them. He hoped, at least. He hoped this wouldn't leave an imprint in them. He hopes they wouldn't carry this fear with them after they left.

Roy has had guardianship of the two for several months now, but he had never been badly hurt in that time. Of course he had considered the possibility of something happening to him on the job, but besides some relevant conversations they had when they first met, he doubted they ever thought much of it. He didn't want them to. He didn't want them to think about what his job really entailed while they were still so young. He planned to share more if they asked once they were older, but considering what they had already endured, Roy wanted Ed and Al to focus on enjoying their own lives without being burdened with worry for Roy's.

None of them really had a choice now, it seemed. There was no hiding a gun wound, or the fact that he was in the position to get shot in the first place.

Alphonse unhooked an arm from around him to rub absently at his own face. "When Ms. Hawkeye said you were here and when you wouldn't answer your phone, I- I was so scared. I-" he cut himself off, seemingly unable to finish the statement.

The remorseful pit in his stomach somehow drew wider and he tightened his grip around them. He opened his mouth to apologize again, but that somehow didn't feel good enough all of a sudden. They deserved more than repetition. But he never came up with a response by the time the young blond continued.

"This isn't-" Al started, pausing to sniff sadly. "-this isn't going to happen again, right?"

"…I can't promise that." Even if he asked to be taken off of fieldwork, he knew the military wouldn't allow it. His alchemy was too valuable a resource. But he kept that fact to himself, knowing it wasn't what the boys needed to hear. This was the price he paid for choosing not to talk about his job, he supposed.

"B-but-" Roy felt Al's hands cling desperately onto his shirt as he trailed off and his heart ached from the miserable silence that followed. He then released the colonel and looked up at him, targeting Roy with sodden eyes. Ed followed suit, allowing Roy to drop his arms back into his lap, but said nothing. "But you could get hurt again! And then what?"

Somehow, just saying _I'll try not to_ didn't cut it. In fact, no response that came to mind seemed like it would help. "I don't have much of a choice in the matter," he said instead, silently berating himself for it. As if knowing his hands were tied would comfort them in any way…

And of course it didn't. Al just sniffed miserably again, eyes dropping to the ground as he and Ed watched sadly, unsure what else to say.

There was a gentle knock on the door and Hawkeye stepped in carefully, though still poised with a business-like demeanor. "Sir, Hughes would like to speak with you when you have a moment."

"Oh, I'm sure he would," Roy sighed, almost certain that the man did not word it so easily when he passed the request through Hawkeye. He was almost glad his phone was missing. He nearly asked if his friend had heard that he had been shot, since he had not already manifested inside the room, but held that conversation for another time. "I'll call him later."

The lieutenant nodded and almost backed out of the room until she spared a moment to look over the situation, her eyes falling particularly on the overwhelmed youngest brother. She then glanced up at Roy to take in how helpless he clearly felt, then back to the boy. "Alphonse, would you like to join me to the cafeteria to get some water?"

The kid glanced at Roy, as if looking for permission, with he granted with a small smile. "Okay," he then said to Hawkeye, tone fragile and soft, and turned to follow her out freely, as if agreeing that he needed to get some air.

"And you, Edward?" she asked as she held the door open for Al.

"I'm fine," he replied quietly. For once, Roy actually believed him.

She nodded and guided Alphonse out, closing the door behind them. Roy let his eyes linger on the door for a moment longer, then were drawn back to Ed once he turned to look back at him. Without saying anything, the blond jumped up on the side of the bed beside him, staring down at his hands as he folded them.

The silence drifted on. Roy tried to tell himself it was a comfortable one- told himself to enjoy it. That maybe that hug meant something, and they had somehow grown a little closer. But really, he was just nervous. He tried to think of something to say, but he didn't quite know what the kid was thinking. He didn't know where to begin.

His golden eyes were still watery and wide with worry and he frowned as he stared into space, but whatever emotion he was feeling was subdued somewhat. Roy suspected that he was holding it all in for the sake of his brother; now that they were alone, he didn't know what to expect. The initial reaction must have worn off by then.

"Ms. Hawkeye said you ambushed those riot people and got hurt in the process." Roy watched the kid out of the corner of his eye as he spoke, waiting for more, but it became clear that he was looking for confirmation. And explanation, perhaps.

Roy considered it for a moment before answering, wondering once again how much was safe to tell. Edward seemed relatively composed, at least. He was making a valiant effort to appear so for his brother's sake, but it wasn't all an act. He had always been strong- hardened by what he endured from such a young age, and remembered more of their earlier hardships than Al.

Roy nodded. "They took more security precautions than we had anticipated." He didn't know how else to put it. He didn't really want to bluntly say that he didn't notice the sniper. The original blueprints of the building that they studied did not include any kind of catwalk to be used practically. What a pointless error to make. He pledged to do better next time. Whether they liked it or not, there _would _be a next time.

"What were they even trying to do?"

"Capitalize on chaos," he breathed warily. "It started as just some workers protesting again their low wages, but some others got involved and turned these gatherings into riots. Some joined in just for the thrill of it, but these organizers must have had some ulterior motive. As for what it was- well, that's Hughes' job." It was so easy for people bored of their mundane lives to take advantage of an opportunity like that. They saw others acting out and saw it as a chance to do whatever the hell they wanted.

"Did you catch them?" Ed asked after a beat as his eyes narrowed, looking up at Roy curiously.

Roy paused and thought back and furrowed his brow and his memory offered very little to answer the question. "I'm not sure, actually," he said honestly. "Probably."

"Probably?"

He wracked his brain for more, but everything after getting shot was still a bit of a blur. But he remembered Hawkeye putting pressure on his shoulder until the ambulance showed up, which he doubted would have happened how it did if they needed to chase their targets across town. But he lacked the energy to say all that. "Yeah, I'm almost certain. Haven't gotten a chance to talk to anyone about it yet, though."

That seemed to be enough for the kid, as he just nodded in response.

Since the two showed up, Roy had been so preoccupied watching their expressions. But now that he had a moment to consider other things, his eyes found the medal that hung around Ed's neck, seemingly forgotten. He smiled sadly at it for a moment. "You got medals, huh?"

Ed looked up at him, surprised to have his attention drawn to it, then looked down at the prize. "I'm pretty sure we would have gotten them anyway, but yeah. We won the game." He smiled down at it, but there was still something dark and sad underneath. Somehow, the room didn't feel up to celebrating.

"Good job," he offered lightly, but that didn't seem nearly good enough. "I… I would have given anything to go to the game. I hope you know that. If I were not unconscious, I probably would have climbed out the window just to catch as much as I could."

Edward chuckled, giving a real smile for the first time since showing up. "I don't know how well that would have gone; you hobbling across the field in that hospital getup."

"Better than letting the parents there thinking I had something better to do than go to your last game. At the rate they gossip, the whole city is going to know I missed it by tomorrow."

Edward laughed again and looked like he was going to reply with some offhanded comment, but something quick flashed across his expression and his smile fell, eyes dropping back to the floor. Roy ordinarily might have let it go and wait for the kid to explain only if he wanted, but the change was so sudden, he reacted without thought.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his light tone dropping with concern.

"I'm sorry…" he trailed off, working his jaw as if he had more to say, but Roy cut in, certain whatever explanation he had didn't matter.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he insisted, putting a hand on the kid's shoulder as if doing so would somehow solidify the concept in his head.

"I do," he said sternly, not quite able to make eye contact in return. "I doubted you. I'm distant. I can't act the same way Al does. I don't know why it's so hard, but it is, and you… you deserve better than that."

"Ed- hey- look at me." He did so reluctantly. "We talked about this before, remember? I know it's not easy. I know how hard it can be to get adopted and think you need to act a certain way because of it. And I know it can take a while to get used to. Alright? There's no one that understands that better than I do. It's alright."

"Yeah…"

"I can tell you're not convinced," Roy pointed out easily.

He shifted his weight, letting a few beats pass before replying. "It just doesn't seem fair."

"Which part? The part where you needlessly place unrealistic standards on yourself, or the part where you expect me to demand a specific reaction from you because of a title and some legal documents?"

Edward made a face. "No; the part where you only seem to think about us. But it's not about us- it's not about me. You had to have agreed to adopting us because you wanted it; not just to make us happy."

Roy blinked, taken back by the statement as his hand dropped to subtly help hold himself up, being quickly reminded that his system was probably filled with drugs at the moment. "Of course, I wanted it."

"Then what is it that _you_ want to get out of it?" he asked, tone sharp, almost like an accusation as he demanded an explanation.

Roy caught on to what he was getting at rather easily. "I just want to see you two happy with as many opportunities presented to you as possible."

"Regardless of how I treat you in return," Ed stated for confirmation, eyes narrowed scrutinizing.

"Yes."

"That- that doesn't make sense!" he proclaimed, bringing a leg up onto the bed to better face him. "How can _our_ happiness be the _only _thing that matters? At least Al treats you accordingly. But for me, where's the give and take? The equivalent exchange?"

Roy laughed aloud at the alchemy reference, causing Ed's confused frown to deepen. "Seeing that even I managed to change your lives is more than enough of a reward. That's just what being a parent is about, I suppose."

"A parent…" he echoed quietly as the fight in his tone diminished. Roy wasn't sure if he could take it as a good or a bad sign when that was all he said. Did he understand, or was he just continuing to be stubborn?

"It's okay if you don't quite get it," he commented, realizing quietly that even he didn't fully understand it until after they came to live with him. And even so, he had never addressed the matter with himself until now. "You don't really need to yet."

Edward just shook his head, though somehow, Roy got the impression that the discussion helped to some degree.

The silence continued, much more comfortable than before. It allowed both of their thoughts to travel in whichever direction, until Ed abruptly spoke up again.

"The term _dad_ never had a very good connotation for me. Al's lucky he doesn't remember much of that bastard." Roy watched Ed as he spoke, not quite sure how to reply right away. They scarcely brought up their biological father. Something about not wanting to compare, but he knew it was much easier said than done for Ed.

"I know," he said, primarily about the first part than the second. It was hard to judge a man he had never met, but knowing he left his sick wife and children certainly made it easier. "But in regard to us, not every relationship needs a label to define it."

"Yeah, yeah," Edward waved a hand absently. That wasn't the first time he had heard the concept, and at the rate they were going, would not be the last. "But it helps."

"Maybe so," he said vaguely, prepared to end the conversation there. But he studied the kid beside him and had to wonder if it was enough. He caused them so much worry and didn't know if the simple act of not dying could make up for it. As a thought of how to proceed came to mind, he hesitated. But what right did he have to hesitate after what he had just done to them?

Just then, before he could make up his mind, the door opened and a more composed Alphonse walked in, eyes devoid of the tears that were there previously. Perhaps it was fate that brought him in at that very moment, further prompting him to say the thing that should have been easy for someone in his position, but simply wasn't because he and Ed were too alike.

"Hi," Al said simply as he approached the two, almost looking a little sheepish from the state he was in when he left but knowing neither he nor Ed were about to judge him. Edward smiled at his brother and nodded in greeting, seemingly drained from their conversation.

"Where did Ms. Hawkeye go?" Ed asked idly, likely aiming to draw attention away from himself.

"She got a phone call on our way back," Al replied easily as he hopped up onto the side of the bed on Roy's other side.

Roy sighed as he battled with his own thoughts, his attention torn between them and listening to the boy's conversation. _Just say the thing. Do it. They deserve it. _He sighed again, longer, deeper this time, causing the two blonds to look up at him curiously on either side.

"This may seem sudden, but-" he pursed his lip, quickly, nervously glancing at them, though trying to hide it. "I hope you both know how much I love you."

There was a brief beat of nothing as the words digested. Then Al beamed up at him and plowed into his side without a care in the world, holding on tight. "I love you too," he proclaimed in a way that was so unbelievably easy that it somehow lightened some of the nervous weight he had just noticed was on his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Ed's eyes widened, his mouth left ajar, and complexion immediately reddening as he stiffened. And then there was a flash of regret when he did not immediately return the sentiment as Al did. But he didn't need to. He really didn't. Roy knew he wanted to, and that was all that mattered to him.

Roy didn't say those few words often. He managed to once before a few months ago, as awkward as it has been for him, then again when he happened to be drunk. This time, he expected the meds that swirled in his system helped loosen his lips somewhat.

He looked over at Ed, radiating with discomfort as he was, and smiled as he placed his free hand on his head, ruffling his hair affectionately, silently telling him that he didn't need to say anything. It was a gamble, he knew. Ed could have just as easily been more embarrassed by the gesture. But in light of their recent conversation, that didn't seem to be the case. He seemed to get it, at least for the time being. Edward smiled back, which carried the sentiment just as easily as any vocal reply could have.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry it's a little late! Again... I'm reworking the plan for the last few chapters. Hopefully I figure it out before next week. :')**

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Roy said there was no one he trusted as much as Ms. Hawkeye. He said she was highly capable and could do just about anything. That there was no safer place in Amestris than by her side.

That was all well and good, but that didn't change the fact that Ed was way too old to need a _babysitter._

Al didn't back him up; said that it would be fun. Even so, Ed knew that he agreed but was too amiable to admit it. Not like it mattered, because Roy had promptly ignored his objections and enforced it anyway.

Edward didn't have any problem with Hawkeye. She had only been nice to them, was the sole reason they were reunited with their guardian, and it was interesting to meet anyone from Roy's work life, as shrouded in mystery as it was. He had absolutely no issue with her presence.

But he was thirteen years old! He should have been allowed to spend a day at home without an adult.

_Whatever_, he relented as he slumped against Hawkeye's car door as they drove back to their home. Given the circumstanced, he decided to allow this injustice for the time being. Anyone who had just been shot had the right to be a little paranoid. Hawkeye seemed to agree with the decision; she would rather sleep on the couch than leave the kids alone for the next few days. Which was nice, he supposed.

Plus, Edward found it a little difficult to be upset after his most recent conversation with Roy. Just thinking about it caused butterflies to swarm in his stomach until he forced the thought away before Alphonse could notice.

The car ride was short and not too talkative, but at least lacked the nearly suffocating, anxious weight that the ride to the hospital inflicted on them. Edward used the time to organize his thoughts and, due to the silence of the other two, he suspected they were doing the very same.

Edward thought back to Hawkeye's apology on their way to the hospital earlier that day. It worried him, originally. He had no idea if he would walk inside and immediately want to turn blame onto her. He had hoped not. He didn't truly think he would, but it was the simple act of not knowing what he would walk in on that caused him to consider the worst case scenario. But when they finally did make their way to Roy's room, it wasn't nearly as bad as he had feared. Ed wasn't able to see any visible injuries, the man was awake, and already sitting up.

He was so relieved. The moment the apprehension and uncertainty were lifted, he felt incredibly tired. From both the day's activities as well as that single moment, Edward was convinced he could have easily fallen asleep the moment he laid down.

Roy was never _not_ affiliated with the military in his mind; that was how they met after all. But over the past few months since closing down the orphanage and getting adopted, that fact had somehow drifted further and further behind the image he had for the man. He knew Roy was a colonel, but that was all it was: a title- the decorated uniform he put on every morning.

Regardless of how often he did actually dangerous fieldwork, Roy swore an oath to the military and in doing so, was put into a different category that the rest of the population- than normal citizens.

He had forgotten that.

He had forgotten that he had a guardian who was contractually obligated to put himself in real danger if necessary.

It was easier when he forgot. He didn't want to start worrying for the man's life whenever he stepped out of his office. He lacked the power to do anything about it anyway.

If only he _could_ do something.

Edward stewed on that thought for a while longer as he leaned against the door in the backseat, idly watching the familiar scenery roll by. He tuned out the conversation that struck up between Alphonse and Ms. Hawkeye, not thinking that it might have been a good idea to involve himself until several minutes had passed. If she was going to be constantly around while Roy was stuck at the hospital, then he didn't want any of it to feel uncomfortable. And yet, they pulled into the driveway before he could work up the energy to make sense of whatever they were talking about.

Edward mutely told himself to shape up as he climbed out of the car and followed up the driveway. The last thing he wanted to deal with at the moment was a bunch of concerned questions, asking if he was alright, if he needed to talk, whatever. Everyone saw him get a little… somber at the hospital, but that was all in the past now. Given how usually energetic he was, showing any sign of being tired before nine somehow warranted concern.

With the key Roy lent to her, Hawkeye opened the front door and stepped inside, holding it open for the brothers. Ed stepped inside the same way he always did; into a place that had become his home. But suddenly being there without Roy also present felt unnatural. Almost like he was breaking an unsaid rule.

"He'll be released on Monday," Hawkeye reminded gently, shaking Ed from his brief reverie. He blinked up at her, then turned to Al, who looked to share in his mild hesitation.

"Yeah... Feels weird, though; not having him here," Ed muttered, noticing his brother give a single nod as he walked further in.

It felt a little less homey, he thought as he eyed the living room.

"Are you two hungry? I suspect you haven't eaten much today."

They both nodded, having just realized the same thing for themselves. They followed Hawkeye into the kitchen where she opened the fridge and immediately frowned.

"Does Roy feed you at all?" she asked under her breath as her scrutinizing eyes scanned the lacking contents.

In place of an answer, Ed opened the freezer to reveal a plethora of frozen foods and grinned at the options. "He doesn't have the time to cook very often," he said in Roy's defense- which he realized after a moment was not something he did often.

"Alright," she relented with a sigh, no doubt accepting that there wasn't much she could do about the matter for the time being.

Ed and Al took turns warming up their microwave dinners as Ms. Hawkeye leaned against the opposing kitchen counter, apparently uninterested in partaking. But she had to eat something. Edward would not have been surprised if she ended up having a box of microwave chicken for dinner after searching again and failing again to find anything else in the house.

Their cabinets were not usually so understocked, but that must have just been an effect of how busy Roy had been with work. Staying extra hours, going in early, now working on weekends; didn't allow much time to grocery shop.

In sequence, they gathered silverware, napkins, and sat down at the table as Hawkeye continued to study the kitchen itself. After a moment, Alphonse spoke up with his usual amiable tone.

"So you work for Roy?" he asked easily, idly kicking his legs back and forth under the table. She nodded. "If he's a colonel, then what does that make you?"

"I am a first lieutenant."

Ed _hmm_ed and nodded to show he was paying attention, knowing he would do absolutely nothing with this information. He wondered if there was a joke to be made about having _first_ in a title, but he was more interested in eating to give it much thought.

"Then are you an alchemist like he is?" Alphonse asked next.

In response, Hawkeye smiled. "No, I'm not. There are not many State Alchemists like Roy."

"Then what is work like for you?"

"Very similar to what it's like for him. Paperwork, ensuring others get their work done in time," she trailed off for a moment, making a subtle expression that implied there was something amusing behind her words, though the two brothers did not understand what.

"But Dad does fieldwork, right?" Al asked with a slight frown, his newfound worries still lingering. "Doesn't that mean you do too?"

"We're not called to the field particularly often these days. But if Roy doesn't want to go into detail regarding that part of our jobs, then I don't think I should either."

Ed and Al shared a glance as their hopes of squeezing information out of her were dashed.

"Fine," Edward huffed relentingly. "Can you at least tell us how you met him?"

"We met before the war," she began, thankfully not finding any issue with the topic. "Roy showed up one day years ago to learn alchemy from my father." She laughed softly at the sight of their surprised expressions and went on. "Alchemy is much more accessible than it used to, thanks to the internet. It's rarely taught one-on-one anymore. Flame alchemy as a concept has been attempted many times in the past, but no one has managed to preform it practically before him. We were rather reclusive to avoid attention because of this.

"We were both only teenagers by the time Roy showed up and asked my father to teach him. Somehow, he managed to leave an impression, and became the only other person to become capable of flame alchemy. Later, he went to fight in the war, and I followed him."

"Why?"

She tilted her head slightly, eyes looking back at old memories. "My father died not long before the war began. I didn't have anywhere to turn, and I admired what he had planned. I wanted to help him see it through."

Edward averted his gaze for a moment, pursing his lip. They've heard a little bit about that particular topic. Roy never had any problem talking about his ambitions, although after their most recent scare, Ed doubted it was something either of them particularly wanted to go into at the moment. Who knows what other dangers the man would face as he tried to change the entire country?

But on the other hand, just how serious about it was he? With something so grand planned, would he really have adopted two kids seemingly so impulsively?

Edward wondered that and similar topics more often that he liked to admit. And yet, the deed had been done and there was no redoing it. Besides, he was no longer interested in thinking that Roy had any regrets about them.

* * *

Roy glared lazily up at the far wall as he laid prone in the drab hospital bed for yet another day. He lost count of how long it had been since he was told he wasn't allowed to leave until the next morning, but it had been too long. At least it was still a weekend, so no one thought to bring a pile of paperwork from the office to busy himself with. He would much rather stare at the wall.

His only source of entertainment was the new phone that Havoc dropped by for him, thanks to Hawkeye's insight. It took him far too long to remember his account password and whatnot to move some of his old phone's data onto it. Not all of it was transferable with WiFi alone, but he appreciated what he could get.

What he did get back, however, included the calls he missed the day before. His heart ached regretfully as he saw how many times Ed had tried to call him. Thankfully, the kid had not bothered to leave any voicemails; Roy knew he didn't quite have it in him to hear for himself how worried the kids must have gotten.

Disregarding that solemn reminder, his replacement phone did serve to entertain him for a greater portion of the morning. But with that said, Roy was able to spend only so many hours trying to beat his high score in Sudoku before he got bored.

To add to how pleasantly the day was going, the numbing pain medication he had been given at some point started to wear off. The bullet wounds steadily began to burn as a constant, vengeful reminder of their presence. Enduring discomfort wasn't the most effective way to kill time, but he knew he still had a few hours to go until the nurses would allow him something to numb the pain.

It was well into the day when a nurse came in to interrupt his wall-staring and announce that he had a visitor. He didn't even need to ask to know who.

"Roy!" Maes hollered as he expertly stepped around the nurse in the doorway and placed himself on the foot of the bed with far too much ease. "There you are! You had me worried half to death, getting admitted _again!_"

Roy rolled his eyes, recognizing the worried wife routine immediately. Maes claimed Roy needed practice for when he eventually _settled down_. In actuality, it was an excuse to be annoying; not like he ever needed an excuse for that.

Besides, Roy hadn't been to a hospital for almost a year! He deserved applause for that; not this _harassment._

At the same time, he knew there was at least an ounce of truth to the statement. Being woken up in the morning to a phone call informing that his best friend was in the hospital would always be dreaded.

"It's not that bad," he said plainly, then scowled slightly as he continued. "I could have left yesterday if the doctors would allow it."

"Well you can rest easy knowing that we rounded up everyone who was at that warehouse. Thought I'd let you know," Maes informed, allowing the theatrics to slip away into a calmer, less irritating composure.

"Get anything interesting out of them?" Roy asked as he shifted his weight and leaned back against the headboard.

"We got them to talk fairly easily, but none of it was particularly interesting by your standards," his friend said with a light laugh. "Most of their motives are shoddy at best. Half of them didn't make sense and were probably just looking for attention and publicity. I haven't talked to them myself yet, but the reports I've been getting are saying that one of them has been pretty quiet comparatively, but he could just be scared and-"

While Roy did not intend on it, he started dozing out of the conversation as his thoughts strayed back to wondering what his kids were up to. A Sunday afternoon with Hawkeye who was admittedly a little out of her element (not like he could judge), they were probably just watching TV.

He felt bad about leaving so little food in the house. Perhaps he would compensate her, having no doubt that the lieutenant would refuse to let them eat microwave food all weekend. He wouldn't want to subject them to that either, though Roy doubted they would complain.

But even with that decided, the guilt that tightened around his chest did not lighten.

Suddenly there was a hand waving in his face. He blinked up at Maes as the mild jolt of surprise quickly died and narrowed his eyes at him expectantly.

"You're not even listening me," his friend announced, feigning scandalized offence. When Roy responded by only deepening his half-hearted glare, he smiled softly. "What's on your mind?"

Roy considered blowing the issue off with a disinterest wave of his hand but thought better of it. It didn't take him long to learn to open up to his friend regarding almost any issue that involved Ed and Al, considering that giving parent advice was Maes' favorite pastime.

He sighed relentingly and folded his arms. "I need to make this up to them somehow."

"Ed and Al?" Maes asked needlessly, to which Roy didn't bother to confirm. His friend then crossed his legs over the side of the bed and tapped a finger lightly against his chin in thought. "Hmm… Why not finally teach them some alchemy?"

Roy grumbled.

"Come on, what's the problem?" Maes drawled, no doubt getting tired of hearing Roy offer the same excuses every time alchemy was brought up.

"It's dangerous," he said anyway.

"Uh huh," Maes fired back sarcastically. "You were almost their age when you started studying it. Besides, they're smart."

"They are. That's not the point," Roy muttered stubbornly, hunching his shoulders slightly and averting his gaze to the window.

"No, it's not." Maes agreed quietly mostly to himself as he watched Roy, scrutinizing him, reminding the colonel that the head of the Investigation department was digging for information. "Oh, I know what it is. You don't want them to get snatched up by the military."

Roy glared at him, expecting to see an obnoxiously victorious grin for deducing correctly, but Maes looked back at him with only sympathy in his eyes. He shouldn't have been surprised. Roy sighed and let the tension in his shoulders drop.

"You know how the military can be regarding talented alchemists."

"I know. But those boys are going to teach themselves if they have to. All you can do is hope to guide them."

"I know," Roy echoed through a weary exhale.

If he were to be honest with himself, Roy couldn't think of something that would please those kids more than finally offering them the one thing they've been asking for since moving in with him.

"I'll… consider it."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the long wait for a long chapter, my dudes. Life has been busy and will continue to be so for the next few weeks. I doubt updates will be as prompt as they were when this started, but the fic only has a few chapters left, so I'll definitely finish soon! Thanks for all the support, everyone!**

* * *

The past few days had been stressful. Considering the brothers have been spending the past few months leisurely playing soccer and watching TV and attempting to sneak glances at alchemy books under Roy's nose, they were not too accustomed to stress. Enough time had passed since leaving the orphanage for them to unwind and ease into their new lifestyles. There were times when Ed thought it was all getting a little dull, but in hindsight, he would take it over the stress without hesitation.

He hoped that was all behind them however, when he, Al, and Hawkeye drove to the hospital Monday morning to pick Roy up. They were now walking besides him as he sulked in a wheelchair that was being pushed by a nurse through the main lobby. He looked more like himself, dressed in some loose, casual clothes that one of his friends (or subordinates, and he would likely put it) must have dropped off at some point.

It had only been two days since the man got shot, but it was a refreshing sight all the same.

He knew Roy was on heavy pain medication when they first visited and was distracted from thinking about the injuries. He knew they still hurt by how stiff his shoulders were and how little weight he liked to put on his leg. Part of him may have been secretly thankful for the wheelchair, if his pride allowed it.

Or maybe Ed was overthinking it; expecting the worst. Hell, he didn't know what it felt like to get shot and he hadn't found the right moment to ask Roy to explain it on a scale of one to ten quite yet.

Regardless, he looked forward to getting out of the hospital and putting the entire incident behind them.

The nurse guided them through the large glass doors and out onto the curb where Hawkeye drove a car up a moment later. Roy waved away any offered assistance and climbed into the passenger seat without any visible difficulty, but both he and Al were keeping a close eye on him as they got into the back row.

Just in case.

"So," Roy exhaled as he shifted his weight while Ms. Hawkeye began to drive out of the lot. "How did it go?"

"Fine," Ed answered automatically as he watched the passing cars.

"You two didn't cause Hawkeye any trouble, did you?" he asked lightly.

"Nope, it was great," Al exclaimed brightly.

Hawkeye nodded and smiled softly. "They were both very well behaved."

Al grinned at the compliment. "Ms. Hawkeye is really nice and cooked us dinner!"

"Oh did she?" Roy mused absently.

"Speaking of which, I've been meaning to talk to you about the food you've been keeping for this boys," Hawkeye said with a quick and pointed glance at him.

Roy sulked further into his seat under her sharp gaze. "Listen Hawkeye; I usually have better options in the house, but I didn't really have much time to go shopping on account of getting shot." He sat up and looked at the two blonds through the mirror for assistance. "Isn't that right?"

The brothers shared a tacit glance. "Yeah, it's usually not _all_ frozen food."

"Sometimes he even cooks," Edward added even as half a dozen snarky responses came to mind that would do nothing to help Roy at the moment. He kept them all to himself. Perhaps it was because he pitied the man. Or sympathized. Or maybe he just didn't want to see him get a lecture. Regardless, he doubted he would have missed out on the opportunity to show off his wit two days ago, but recent events convinced him to give their guardian a break.

Roy looked almost surprised when the two boys actually backed him up, but he grinned all the same. "You see, Hawkeye? I'm _responsible_."

Edward snickered quietly to himself when he caught Hawkeye rolling her eyes in the rearview mirror. "Whatever you say, sir," she replied dismissively. "By the way, there's leftovers in the fridge for you, since you likely won't be cooking tonight."

Roy blinked and straightened u[, remembering to reclaim the poise he often carried around with him. "Well, I appreciate the gesture, Hawkeye, but it was unnecessary; I am fully capable of cooking a meal."

The car turned into a familiar neighborhood and Hawkeye shook her head marginally and withheld a sigh. "If you're feeling so well, then I suppose I can expect to see you at the office tomorrow, bright and early."

Roy's confidence faltered slightly. "Ah… right. Of course."

They pulled up alongside the house. Alphonse thanked her for driving and followed Ed out; the two blonds were already waiting outside by the time Roy began to push open the car door. Edward watched him share a few words with her before pushing himself out, albeit slowly ND slightly strained. He took a step closer to peer through the car window and offered Hawkeye a wave, unsure what else to do. Two straight days was a decent amount of time to get to know someone, but he still wasn't exactly a perfect picture of charisma and grace.

Regardless, she left the three of them behind as they all turned to return to their home. Edward entered through the front door gratefully noting that the sensation once again felt as it should thanks to Roy being present. Despite the sudden urge to thank the man for it, hat wasn't something he knew how to put into words, however. Attempting just seemed… embarrassing.

Despite the talk they had about it, Ed knew it would take time to convince himself to stop being so stubborn all the time in regard to Roy. But somehow, he doubted the colonel would mind for the time being.

"Good to be home," Roy exhaled as he entered the living room, scanning the walls as if he was expecting to see something out of place, and then gingerly fell into the couch.

"Good to have you back." Both Roy and Al snapped their attention onto Ed when the words left his mouth, surprised that they came from him. He almost immediately regretted saying something that verged so precariously close to sincerity_._

That surprised silence passed for only a beat before they both continued as if there was nothing strange about it. Edward was hit with a rush of relief that no one commented, though still disliked the attention it earned him. It wasn't the worst-case scenario, at least. That was what he got for trying, he supposed.

"Are either of you hungry? Roy asked easily. "I'm not, but it's almost lunchtime; Hawkeye mentioned leftovers-"

"What happened to cooking something?" Ed asked as a half-hearted taunt to move past his last comment, hoping that Roy wouldn't take it as a challenge to actually get up and go to the kitchen.

"I meant I'd cook dinner," he said as he lazily and dismissively waved his hand. Edward scoffed, amused and unsurprised.

"I think we're fine," Al replied as he glanced to the older brother to see if he agreed. "We ate before going to the hospital."

"I see."

The conversation dropped to an end as Roy lounged on the couch and fiddled with the TV remote while Ed and Al watched him for a moment. They then looked at each other, shrugged, and began to move down the hall to return to their own room.

It felt strange, somewhat. The past few days had been so active and memorable in the sort of way that Ed would be forced to carry with him for years to come, if not the rest of his life. And now all of that had just ended so suddenly with Roy returning home, and they were expected to simply continue on with their blissful, carefree lives as if none of it had even happened.

There didn't seem to be any helping it. He would continue to endure trials throughout life, and then they would just… end. And he would always have to move on.

It reminded him of the first few days after getting adopted and moving in with Roy. It was all so strange and first, until it wasn't.

"Wait a moment."

The blonds paused before they could get far and both turned back to Roy, who was watching them with his brows furrowed slightly and thoughts clearly racing through his dark eyes. He then sat up a little straighter, still holding the remote loosely in his hands.

"I suppose I should say something." They watched him silently as Roy hesitated and absently scratched the back of his head. "I know we talked about this a few days ago, but… I'm sorry you two had to deal with all of this, and I'll do whatever I can to keep it from happening again."

Al frowned at the floor for a moment as they were reminded of what Roy had said back then: that he couldn't promise he wouldn't get hurt. Simply _trying _was all he could do.

"It's fine," Ed said when Al remained quiet. But he knew it wasn't fine. Al knew. Roy knew. There was just nothing to be done about it.

"It's not," Roy said somberly, earning himself a mildly pointed look from Ed. He was missing the point. This was the part where he pretended to agree so they could all move on. "I was thinking of ways I could make it up to you."

"You don't have to do anything like that," Al spoke up suddenly, almost surprised that Roy thought he owed them any more than everything he had already given them.

"I wouldn't turn this down so quickly if I were you. I think you'll like what I have in mind." Despite what he said, there was a hint of reluctance in his tone and the smile he forced on himself. But he insistently pushed whatever thought was holding himself back aside and pressed on. "I thought maybe I would uh…" He cleared his throat. "Maybe later I could pull out some of the alchemy books I've been hiding, and we can go over the basics together."

The boys both froze, eyes wide and mouths ajar, as the offer sunk in. Edward had been so distracted with the hospital ordeal that he had nearly forgotten about alchemy and their persistent desire to dig through his research notes and tomes when he wasn't looking.

But Roy was actually _offering_…

Edward blinked, internally fighting past the shock that had momentarily paralyzed them both. "Uh yeah. Yeah! That would be great," he made himself say as a smile snuck onto his face without his knowing, far too occupied at the prospect to consider it.

They had been badgering him about teaching them alchemy since before they were adopted. Apparently, all it took to get Roy to agree was to get shot…?

He didn't want to give that much thought.

"Yeah!" Al agreed eagerly beside him. "When can we start?"

"Ah, maybe tomorrow- after work."

As exciting as the offer was, neither were about to rush the man after having just being discharged from the hospital. No matter how much they wanted to.

Hell, the new possibilities of what this meant hadn't fully sunken in yet, but Edward as already wondering how he could possibly make it through the rest of the day and the next now that he knew what was waiting for them.

Finally- they would finally get some proper instruction on how to preform alchemy.

At least, once Roy was feeling up to it.

* * *

Ed and Al stood side by side in the living room, staring down at the couch that was currently occupied by one sleeping Roy. About an hour ago when the older brother was passing by, Roy had asked him to wake him up when they got hungry. But in spite of that, neither had any intention of doing that.

"I don't think he'll wake up before dinner time," Alphonse stated matter-of-factly as he folded his arms in thought.

Ed watched with a slightly tilted head as Roy unconsciously shifted and rolled more into his uninjured side, allowing him to see a hint of some of the bandages that were wrapped around his shoulder. Despite doing nothing but sitting in a bed for two days straight, he still seemed exhausted; drained by all of the medication, perhaps.

"Doesn't look like it."

Then Al pivoted to face Ed with an eager expression he knew all too well. "We should make dinner for him!"

Edward arched his brow as he returned the eye contact, but any thought of arguing vanished at the sight of how excited he looked. Besides, there was really no reason _not_ to, after all that had happened. "Yeah okay."

His brother grinned and turned to the kitchen, announcing "let's get started!" as he vanished around the corner.

Ed followed with some skepticism in their ability to actually make a meal that was not cereal and toast. They watched Hawkeye cook the other day and helped cut vegetables and such, but they didn't really know what they were doing. He vaguely remembered helping their mother in the kitchen so long ago as well, but he was only given incredibly simple tasks at such a young age.

But how hard could it be? They just needed to follow the recipe.

Speaking of which, Edward looked absently around the kitchen. "Well. We need a recipe." Al _hmm_ed in thought for a beat as Ed pulled out his phone. "Thank you, internet," he murmured as he typed on the device for a minute. "So, what should we make?"

"Uuhhh... I guess it depends on what we have."

"Well Ms. Hawkeye bought some stuff yesterday, so..." Ed trailed off as he stared at the screen while Al opened the fridge to scan the contents, looking passed the other day's leftovers. "Here's a chicken thing that looks good."

"We don't have any chicken."

"Okay," he drawled distractedly. "Uhh, steak?"

Al made a skeptical face, both brothers knowing the answer to that one.

"Then what _do_ we have to work with?"

Alphonse shifted some things around inside the fridge. "Uhh vegetables, some fruit, milk, butter- not quite sure what _that_ is..."

Edward pursed his lip as he scrolled aimlessly down a page of unrealistic meal suggestions, then paused, dropping his phone to his side, and looking up at Alphonse. "This isn't looking too promising," he stated needlessly.

"Yeah," his brother drawled as he closed the fridge to face him. "Then let's lower our standards a bit."

"Lower standards, huh?" Edward mused as he leaned back against the counter. Then after a moment, he brightened with a confident grin. "I have an idea."

* * *

Roy rolled over to bury his face into the stiff throw pillow that he had woken to find himself hugging, hoping to fend off consciousness for a little while longer and hide from the light coming from overhead. He wanted to turn it off, but just the thought of standing made his leg ache. But half a second later, his growling stomach gave him very good incentive to give up before the attempt could make any headway.

He was _starving_.

Hungry… and tired. He was sleeping, so what time was it? What day was it? Did he sleep all night, or…?

His pried his eyes open as he gingerly pushed himself to sit up as hastily as he could with a wounded shoulder to blink at the clock on the cable box under his television. If his blurry, tired eyes were to be trusted, it was about nine. AM or PM? He stared at the curtain-covered windows for several long, groggy seconds until he finally discerned it to be nighttime.

He apparently napped for a while longer than anticipated, but at least it wasn't straight through the night. But damn- he said he would make dinner.

Moments before he could stagger to his feet to nervously check to ensure his kids weren't shriveling up somewhere because he was too busy sleeping to prepare food, his attention was drawn to a bowl on the coffee table.

Meticulously positioned with a neatly folded napkin and a spoon by its side was a hot serving of macaroni and cheese, placed there only moments ago if the steam was anything to go by.

The kind from the box, which Edward insisted was superior to all other forms of macaroni.

Roy smiled down at the presentation as the memory surfaced and shifted his position back into something a little less panicked.

He brought the bowl closer to him as he picked up the spoon and glanced up just in time to see two peering blond heads disappear into the hall.

His smile widened as he gratefully took a bite.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the long wait! Ahhhhh life's been busy. Back on schedule, hopefully. Two more chapters left, wow!**

* * *

"Wow," Roy murmured as he studied the alchemically created vase, gliding his eyes over the intricate carvings and detail. "You're a natural, Ed."

Edward, from his place on the floor in front of his creation, arms crossed confidently, grinned widely, radiating with smugness. "See, what did I tell ya? I knew I'd be great at it!"

"Don't get too excited, brother," Al warned with a challenging smirk. "I'll transmute something way better next time."

"I hope so; this would get boring otherwise," he sneered, earning a lighthearted punch on the arm from the younger brother as he laughed. Roy just shook his head with an easy smile as he pulled one of alchemic research books over to him to skim through it.

Only a few days had passed since he was admitted and discharged from the hospital. His shoulder still hurt, his leg still hurt, but he did his best to keep it under wraps especially around the boys. With them distracted, he allowed himself a moment to tensely roll his shoulder and grimacing lightly, feeling the need to move the damn thing every now and again, despite the lingering ache.

Roy planned on only going for the basics of alchemy for the day. Explaining and discussing the science, hypothetical uses, drawing circles correctly, but the kids blew through all with ease, forcing him to let them move onto preforming actual transmutations. He shouldn't have been surprised. He wasn't, really. Roy was well aware that they had enough experience, transmuting little trinkets before, sneaking glances at his research books. They took in everything he said and everything he showed them with ease thanks to their dedicated excitement.

The kids reminded him of himself when he was studying the art. Too blinded by fascination to realize what having such knowledge would mean. The power to raze a civilization to the ground. At the rate they were going, Ed and Al would have that same power soon enough.

_Buildings, people, all on fire, the air filled with screams and the sand under his feet soaked with blood._

Roy flinched.

As soon as they could prove their prowess with alchemy, there would be others who would seek out their abilities and intend to use it for their own gain. If it wasn't the military, it would be someone else.

The brothers knew that; Roy warned them too many times to count. But he knew they weren't thinking about it when they dove into the books that he put in front of them, or when they were drawing up circles. Of course, that wasn't necessarily bad. Roy wanted them to enjoy the things that interested them without having to worry about such consequences. They would eventually have to tread a thin line.

But that was okay. Roy would make sure of it.

He would protect them.

* * *

The soccer season may have ended, but as Coach Mercer had told them the week prior, weekly practice did not have to end as well. Ed and Al, having nothing better to do on the weekdays, decided to attend the continuous meetings. Same place, same time, with mostly the same people.

And it went well. As they agreed once before, the two needed consistency after having a childhood without it. There, they could make friends without the daunting possibility of them being suddenly whisked away at any moment. They could allow someplace like the park to become warmly familiar without the fear of one day never seeing it again.

Any of that could happen even as they lived with Roy, but it was different, knowing that there would always be some consistencies now. But with that said, some things will always change.

That afternoon was a good example.

It was mutual agreement. Roy took the morning off work to spend some time with them and some alchemy books before returning to the daily grind. But in return, he would have to stay later to finish dealing with the loose ends of that riot ordeal that sent him into the hospital in the first place. As an effect of that, Ed and Al had agreed to take the bus back home so they could get used to it in case something like it were to ever happen again. The concept of preparing for such an event was frightening, but all three of them decided not to give that aspect of it much thought.

They had also been given the phone number of just about every person on Roy's team, some of which they hadn't even met before. If it weren't for the fact that they would all be working late, he had no doubt Roy would have easily pulled rank to get the brothers a ride.

The coach had talked to them for a bit after practice, having heard about what happened to Roy down the grapevine. (Whatever that meant.) He offered them a ride, but not wanting to stray from the plan, the blonds turned him down. It was a nice offer, at least. He was hesitant to leave them be; looked almost worried. But they supposed that was reasonable, considering the past few days.

The bus schedule worked well for them, anyway. They only had to wait at the bus stop for around ten minutes before the large vehicle rolled up.

Edward stepped onto the bus and gave a cursory glance down the row of seats with people scattered among them before turning to the driver, masking his uncertainty as he offered the few cenz Roy had given them. He didn't exactly remember the total but did not dare to show how oblivious he felt by asking. The driver took the money without comment and a moment passed before Ed realized that there was nothing more to be said, and their brief interaction was over. He hurried himself along with Al close behind, hearing the bus door close behind them.

Ed picked an empty seat near the middle of the populated cabin and slid in, as did Al, and they both exhaled wearily, glad to have gotten through the first half. All that was left was to get off at the right stop. With that on their minds, the bus slowly began to pull back onto the road, then gently lurched to a stop once more. The doors opened, someone else stepped on, they closed, and again, the bus began to move. Edward and Alphonse paid this no mind.

The additional passenger passed them by as the bus accelerated to match the ongoing traffic. A few boring minutes passed as Edward looked down at his phone, idly staring at the time that looked back at him, wondering how long this was going to take. They would have been back home soon if the bus had not needed to zig zag all across town before reaching their stop.

As Edward mulled his thoughts over, Al shifted in his seat, turning every few seconds the scan his eyes over something else.

"What are you doing?" Ed asked after watching him for a moment.

"Looking," his brother said simply. "We've never been on a bus before; this is kind of exciting!"

Edward blinked, then followed Al's gaze as he turned to watch the passing scenery. He supposed Alphonse made a good point, as optimistic as it was. He assumed that he could find _something _enjoyable about this experience if he tried, but he didn't necessarily care to. If anything, he was indifferent. It was a means to an end, he supposed.

The sides of buildings and telephone poles glinted with the orange rays of the setting sun, casting warm shadows across the sidewalks. Ordinarily, he would have been watching the same sight from within Roy's car, a few meters closer to the ground. He would have preferred that, but what good did complaining do for anyone? This wasn't going to become a trend. It was all because Roy was caught up with work thanks to all that had happened, and that didn't occur very often. He and Al just had to tough it out for the night, and then be done with it. At least for a while.

The bus made multiple stops, loading and unloading more people as it went about its normal routine. The passengers moved like clockwork, all having become incredibly accustomed to the experience. Most looked to have just gotten off work. One or two other kids were seen following their parents around at different moments, but for the most part, Ed and Al stuck out. At least they weren't wearing their bright soccer uniforms to practice. He wasn't exactly in the mood to be noticed; he just wanted to get home and find something to eat, and expected Al was primarily on the same page.

There were some conversations from other rows, muted by the passing traffic, but the bus was otherwise relatively quiet. Enough so that the brothers didn't feel much of an inclination to talk, considering both were rather worn out from practice. Ed began staring into space, with his eyes landing idly on the back of the seat in front of them. Minutes passed quickly as he occupied himself with his own thoughts, until there was a shift in his surroundings.

Al, still looking around the cabin, abruptly turned back around to face forward and stiffened. Suddenly a little more alert, Ed looked at him curiously.

"Uhh brother? I think someone's watching us." Edward narrowed his eyes and took in the concern that was undulating off of his younger brother. He weighed his options, then sat up on his knees and turned around, ready to confront whoever it was with a glare despite Al's quick, hushed plea not to.

A few rows behind them was a figure whose head dropped down the moment Ed turned to look back, face obscured by their dark jacket's hood. By the partially hidden frame, Ed could only assume it was a man, maybe a little younger than Roy. He watched for a moment longer, blatantly ignoring the curious looks the other passengers were casting. When the darkly dressed person didn't rise to his challenging gaze, he turned back with a slouch and glared at nothing.

"Well…?" Al asked nervously after a beat.

"I don't know, Al; the guy looks sketchy."

"Should we just ignore him?" he asked tentatively, sinking a little deeper into the seat.

"For now, at least."

"Maybe we should get off the bus early."

Ed wanted to say that Al was overreacting; that sometimes people stare, and it didn't mean anything. But now that he was aware of it, he could feel eyes boring into the back of his head. He too slouched down further, making himself hidden by the back of the seat.

His mind unwillingly returned to the suspicious person he had seen multiple times at the park, and he was certain Al was wondering the same thing. It would be absurd, though. What were the chances they were one in the same? Not great, but did he dare risk underestimating the possibility?

Regardless, he at least knew that there was nothing to fear in that exact moment. If they were being watched, the stranger couldn't do anything beyond that with so many other people around them, assuming he intended to in the first place. And Edward wasn't the type to simply put up with things if he could help it.

He forced himself to sit straighter and looked over his shoulder with another challenging scowl in place, but the darkly dressed guy must have been prepared for it, because he saw no reaction whatsoever. He was still sitting a few rows back, head still looking down. Ed's frowned deepened as he turned to face forward once again. The guy wasn't even giving him an excuse to make some loud confrontation. Either the brothers were overreacting, or the stranger knew what he was doing.

"Ed?" Al asked again, shaking him out of his musing.

"Uh- yeah, maybe," he answered distractedly. He didn't really know what the best option here was, but it was his job to at least pretend like he did.

They still had a few more stops to go until they were supposed to get off, but one of them was relatively close to home, if they cut through some neighborhoods. At least if memory served from when Roy was making them to look at a map of the bus route.

"Okay," he breathed after another moment passed, eyes scanning the passing surroundings to match landmarks to the map in his mind. "Let's get off at the next stop." If he had it right, then they would be able to maneuver their way back home by adding only a few minutes to the trip. Maybe it wasn't necessary. Maybe it wasn't the best call. But they were both eager to escape the weight of strange eyes on the back of their heads. He would much rather act and be wrong, than do nothing.

Alphonse only nodded in response.

They waited in silence, being the only two on the bus to feel stifled by the sudden pressure that seemed to fill the air. Ed had to wonder how no one else could notice it, as thick as it was.

Oblivious bystanders; far too caught up in their damn patterns.

Their new designated stop was approaching. The boys watched the passing street signs with a nervous anticipation as the bus eventually lulled to a stop. A portion of their fellow passengers got up and began exiting. Ed and Al, after sharing a nervous glance, did the same, and jumped into line. Edward looked back as they slowly moved, relieved to see that the suspicious stranger did not stand with them. And yet, as he turned away, he thought he could narrowly see eyes scrutinizing him from under the shadows of his hood.

He suppressed any visible reaction that may have wanted to spring forth and focused on taking the steep steps out of the bus with Al at his heel.

The street they were dropped off was relatively unpopulated, besides the others who got off with them that were quickly dispersing. The street corner they were closest to housed a few small business buildings that were divided from the surrounding neighborhoods by a series of thin side streets. The taller city buildings towered over them only a few blocks away. The brothers turned their attention towards the road that went through the nearest neighborhood, intending to slip through the rows of houses to reach theirs. The walk would take several minutes, but it was better that remaining in that suffocating bus.

They began walking, not giving the others a second thought.

Not even a minute had passed before Ed noticed that they seemed to be alone, excluding the cars that passed by every few moments.

It took a few more seconds to notice that that observation was wrong.

The bus pulled away from the side of the road and quickly drove past them, leaving them behind. Them, and the darkly dressed stranger from before. Ed saw him out of the corner of his eye, barely beyond his bangs, and stiffly looked back to the path in front of them in hopes of playing off the sudden rush of adrenaline that pulsed in his veins.

_Shit- are we really being followed!?_

Al easily caught onto his subtle change in comportment and wasted no time figuring out why. They kept walking.

"Brother…" Al warned under his breath.

Ed pursed his lip, feeling his panic spiking.

_Shit, shit, shit, what's happening?_

It could just be a coincidence. Just a person who happened to be very suspicious was staring into space in their direction, and coincidentally got off at the same stop.

But damn he was not going to risk it.

Ed vividly remembered feeling eyes on him as they waited in the park last week. The coach noticing the same thing, nearly confronting the guy…

Something was terribly wrong, and even he knew it back then. They just ignored it in favor of pretending like it wasn't _that _weird; that it didn't matter.

He held onto his cell phone tightly, hand shaking, mind racing feverishly with options. Subconsciously, he and Al started walking a little faster. Ed rose his phone slightly to waist level to look at the screen as subtly as possible, holding his thumb over the screen. He needed to do something… He could feel himself being followed- could almost make out the soft footfalls…

Al inched closer to him and opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it.

He was walking on autopilot now, focused only on Al, their pursuer, and his phone. He quickly opened the list of recent calls and hovered over Roy's name. But Roy was at work; would he leave just for a suspicion? A growingly threatening, probably worst-case suspicion, that is…

Probably.

But he could also call the police.

Damn it- Edward would have loved to turn around and beat the guy up himself, but he had no training. An adult would easily out-class him. If he knew enough alchemy for it to be practical, like Roy, then maybe….

But he didn't.

He couldn't do anything himself.

They were moments away from breaking into a full sprint, at the rate they were going. Panic reigned in their minds. Finally, Ed made up his mind and dialed the nationwide emergency number, nervously punching in the three numbers, terrified that he'd mess up with how his hands were shaking.

But as it rang, he didn't dare hold it up to ear just yet. He let it sit for a moment until he heard the quiet, distant muffle of someone picking up the other end. In one swift motion, he brought the device up and broke into a run with Al quick to do the same, catching the tail end of the urgent question from the other end of the line.

But he didn't get far.

A hand grabbed into his wrist with enough pressure pressed to force him to drop his phone to the ground with a surprised, sharp gasp. Al stumbled to a stop a few feet away, borderline hysterical as he trained his eyes onto Ed's assailant, just as he did the same.

He was tall and nervous with brown hair that swept messily over his eyes that, even as they stared right at him, were nearly hidden by the shadows that were cast over his face. His looked intent, and yet almost as nervous as Ed felt.

Edward tried to pull away, but the grip was iron-tight. He was a moment away from trying to attack the man but caught the glint of a switchblade in the man's other hand as he pulled it out of his jacket pocket.

For what felt like an eternity, everything froze as the two held a silent battle of wills. But Ed, at an obvious disadvantage in just about every way imaginable, could only stay still and hope deeply that nothing horrible would happen as his heart pounded against his ribs, shortening his breath to something sporadic and downright embarrassing.

Slowly, his assailant bent down and picked up the phone in the same hand that held the blade and ended the call.

"No need for that," the man said slowly as he watched the two brothers with his unrelenting grip still firmly around Edward's wrist. With an almost over-practiced stiffness, he continued: "Now, I'd like you two to come with me."


	13. Chapter 13

It had to have been at least ten minutes of walking. Ten horribly stressful, nerve-wracking minutes of dead silence. The stranger's hand moved from Edward's wrist to his shoulder as he pushed him forward, keeping the switchblade out of obvious sight. Al walked next to his brother, stiff as a board. He clearly wasn't going to try anything with a threat hanging over Ed's head.

Edward thought about giving some sort of signal to anyone who happened to glance in their direction but doing so ended up being much more difficult than anticipated. They were guided to a side of town they had never been too before, edging closer to the city's outskirts. Less people were walking around like in the center of town, and anyone they did happen to cross was usually on the other side of the road, too far to see their distress, or just not paying attention.

They approached a mostly empty lot on the edge of a quiet neighborhood. It looked to have once been claimed by construction that must have been canceled before the land could become anything. Among the piles of abandoned steel beams and construction tools was an old, dingy trailer home with a dusty tan paint job that fit into the decrepit plot of land well. Had he merely been passing by, Ed would have thought nothing of it. But now that he was being forced in that direction with a knife behind his back, he was terrified of it. He wanted nothing more than to take Al and run far away. But the cold hand on his shoulder was a steady warning to comply.

Part of him was convinced he could slip out of the man's grasp and make a run for it before any damage could befall him. But with Al in the mix, he wouldn't dare risk it as things were. If they were not completely on the same page and everything was pointing towards their favor, something could go wrong and he could end up causing something much worse to happen. But with that said, he had no idea what they were being shoved into. Which outcome was really worse?

Regardless, he wasn't in any position to gamble with his and Al's well being.

"Open the door and go inside." Ed paused when they reached the trailer and took a moment longer to realize that it was Alphonse who was being addressed. He glanced at his brother and mustered up a frail smile when he took in how terrified he looked. The gesture seemed to help somewhat. Alphonse nodded slowly and climbed the steep steps allowed him to open the door, as ordered. But his brother just stood there for a moment, gazing inside the trailer, paralyzed by the fear of walking into their own cage.

"Hurry up," the man said urgently, almost with a hint of nervous tension. Unbeknownst to Al, his grip of Ed's shoulder tightened. He refrained from reacting to the pressure, if only to make him feel a little less powerless.

Alphonse jumped out of whatever thought he was having and reluctantly stepped into the trailer, giving the inside a cursory glance, and holding the door open for Ed and his assailant.

This was bad. This was really, really bad.

Only vaguely aware that he was holding his breath, Edward climbed up the steep few steps to get inside when the man released his shoulder but followed closely. Ed and Al automatically strayed over to a corner to get a better look of the trailer and the person who apparently owned it.

It was horribly average looking. Nothing that screamed _kidnapper_ or _murderer_ or anything else that their paranoid expectations wanted to paint for them. Just a normal trailer home with a small kitchenette, small counter space, and a compact door that led into the other half of it. He supposed something more daunting could have been behind there, but at that point, Edward couldn't help but expect the whole thing to appear just as normal. Still, that did little to ease their festering worries.

The man stared at them for a long second, then took a few steps closer, causing them both to back up further into the corner. Al grabbed into Ed's sleeve nervously. The kidnapper dropped his narrowed hazel eyes onto Al and extended a hand.

"Give me your phone."

The grip on Ed's sleeve tightened. "I- I don't-"

"I know you have one; give it to me!" he demanded with a single fervent shake of his hand.

Alphonse flinched away from the loud tone and nervously fished into his pocket and gave up his phone. Now he had both of them; the phones Roy had bought for them to keep in touch. Edward felt his stomach churn.

The man gave the device a quick glance before stealing it away in his pocket, likely along with Ed's phone. "Good. Now sit down and don't try anything." Not given much of an option, they did just that.

Edward hated complying with the guy. Every fiber in his being screamed at him to stay on his feet and _do _something. He had faced selfish, callous people before. He had been hurt before. He wanted to reason that this wasn't any different, but it abjectly was. He was terrified; so much that he couldn't trust himself to act. If he tried, he could freeze up and only get the two of them in a worse situation. He had to constantly remind himself that he would be facing off of a grown adult who was armed, while he was a child with nothing to defend himself with.

He tried looking around for any makeshift weapon, but as to be expected of a mobile home, everything in sight was either bolted down, or stored away, not to mention far out of arms reach from the corner they sat in.

The kidnapper tensely sat down at the semi-compressible table, facing the two, and pulled out his own phone and made a call. He nervously tapped his foot as he waited. "Hey," he eventually said into the other line. "I uh… I got them." There was a pause. "Yeah, two." The faint, muffled voice on the other end rose in volume, and the guy grimaced slightly. "…whatever, just get down here." Edward had the sneaking feeling that he was being terse only because Ed and Al were listening. There was another long pause. The man's frown deepened. Eventually, he made a quiet sound of acknowledgement and hung up the phone without another word. Immediately following, his narrowed eyes fell on the two almost as if he was suddenly upset that they were there.

They said nothing.

He said nothing.

The nameless kidnapper looked back down to his phone, occasionally tapping the screen in silence.

Alphonse was still keeping close to Ed, holding onto his arm like a lifeline, his fear painfully evident. Edward hated to see it, but he was just relieved Alphonse was able to stay close to him. He would not stand for it if anyone tried to split them up.

But even so, the lack of information they had was unbearable. Why was this happening? Why them? Who was this guy, anyway? Edward desperately wanted to find some answers and was hastily thinking up ways to do so. But Al took one look at him, and quickly knew what he was thinking, and shook his head.

Ed considered his brother for a moment, then trailed his attention back to the other man. Maybe it was the lack of anything happening what allowed some of his usual bravery to return. Regardless, he disregarded Al's silent warning.

"Hey," he said boldly from the corner as Alphonse tensed besides him. "What do you want with us?"

"Shut up," the man responded quickly, not even sparing a glance from his phone.

Well _that_ didn't quite go as planned.

Something told him that any more attempts to talk would end in similar failure. It looked like they just had to sit there and hope whoever was called would clear things up upon arriving, instead of making things worse for them. From the one-sided conversation he and Al were able to hear, it didn't seem like the third party was very happy. In fact, for a kidnapper, the guy who had brought them there didn't seem all too satisfied either. Which was… good?

At the very least, he didn't seem eager to hurt them. If that were the case, then Ed had to assume their presence here as hostages served some kind of purpose. Blackmail, maybe?

God, the lack of information was infuriating.

The uselessness; complete and utter lack of power.

He exhaled irritably and shifted his weight subtly enough not to draw any attention to himself, finding a more comfortable position against the trailer's wall. For the time being, he had no option besides keeping his eyes open and ensuring he was always between his brother and the stranger.

Minutes passed uneventfully. For a while, it almost seemed anticlimactic with how frightening everything up to that point had been. And still, there was no denying the abject fear of the situation. Especially while they had no idea what fate was intended for them. But it started to get almost boring, waiting for something to happen. Not like Ed was complaining; he would easily take boring over the alternative.

He tried to think productively, but they really had no options there. Again, he couldn't help but wish he understood more about alchemy. He could have carved a circle into the ground behind him to… do something. Something awesome. But as things were, that currently felt like nothing more than a pipe dream.

They could only sit there and wait.

He hated waiting.

These cycling thoughts kept him preoccupied for a while, at least. Between glancing back to make sure Alphonse was alright every few moments and trying to come up with some elaborate escape plan, it didn't feel like much time had passed before something finally happened.

The door into the trailer home was suddenly jostled and both Ed and Al stiffened, eyes darting to it as panic flared. The door was pushed open with a sense of urgency. But their rising fear was put on pause when they saw who it was.

Coach Mercer stood in the doorway. And for a moment, a disorienting wave of impulsive relief flooded over the two kids.

The older man's wide, almost frantic eyes landed on the two and remained there for several excruciatingly long seconds as there was an exchange of recognition. His shoulders then slouched, and his expression softened into one of disappointment. And curiously enough, there was not an ounce of surprise or shock.

Their relief started to fearfully draw back.

The coach pried his eyes away from the blonds and onto the other guy to look at him despairingly and spoke with an exasperated sigh. "You idiot."

"What?" the stranger snapped as he stood up to face Andrew Mercer.

The coach looked back to the two kids as if he was wary of their presence, then turned back with a withering glare. "These were the worst two you possibly could have chosen," he growled, then continued in a more hushed tone. "Their father is a State Alchemist."

The stranger's desire to argue diminished as if a switch had been flipped at the mention of the infamous title as he blanched. "Seriously? Shit- you were supposed to warn me about something like that!"

"_You_ were the one that acted ahead of schedule!" Mercer said coldly with a finger pointed accusingly at the kidnapper.

"I had too! The military just caught the rest of the rioters!"

"This isn't worth the risk anymore," the coach replied, casting the brothers another quick glance. "I don't want any part in this."

"It's too late for that," the other shot back quickly. "These brats know you're involved now. Besides, the military will be knocking on our doors soon anyway, so we didn't have a choice to begin with!"

"No, the military will be knocking on _your_ door, and _you_ dragged me into this."

"You were just as involved as I was at first."

"That's not-"

"Uhh hi!" Both of the olden men paused their argument to look over to Ed when he abruptly cut in, currently far too confused to fear the situation at that point. "What the _hell_ is going on!?" he asked frantically, primarily looking at the coach as he still had a hard time understanding why he was involved in their kidnapping.

"I told you to be quiet," the stranger snapped, but the coach waved a weary hand dismissively at him, unaffected by his tone besides looking a little annoyed.

He took a hesitant step closer to the two kids, expression remorseful and nervous. "I'm sure it doesn't mean much now, but I'm sorry you two got caught up in this," he sighed as the other glared at his back.

Ed glanced at his brother, who was unsurprisingly just as shocked and confused as he was. "What is _this?_ How do you know that guy? What are you doing here?" he asked hastily, the questions that had built up all spilling out at once. He had to hold himself back from asking them all in a single breath.

The coach pursed his lip for a moment then looked back to the other, who just shook his head disapprovingly. He sighed and continued nonetheless. "This is my younger brother."

Edward blinked, mouth gaping as he looked between the two. Now that it was pointed out, he could see the similarities. Same hair and eye color, except the coach had a more fit build, while the brother was leaner- almost scrawnier. He quickly thought back to when they were all at the park and he noticed a suspicious figure in the distance, drawing the coach's attention to it at the same time. He must have known it was his brother who was skulking around all along.

And perhaps that explained the man's reluctance too- that maybe getting involved in all of this was out of a sense of obligation to his sibling.

But what kind of brother would allow it to escalate this far?

"…what?" Ed eventually breathed, mind still reeling too quickly to make as much sense of this as he would have liked.

"It's… complicated," the coach sighed.

"Enough of this," the younger brother growled as he stepped between them to crouch down in front of the blonds with Edward's phone in hand. He presented the device, through with his grip still firmly on it. "Unlock it."

Edward squint at him. "What for?"

His question earned himself a very pointed and impatient glare. "Don't think anything will change just because you happen to know Andrew. He's not going to help you. Now unlock the phone." The coach looked away with a grimace.

Not a good sign.

Ed, once again given no other feasible option, nervously punched in the four digits for the kidnapper, who withdrew it immediately after to start snooping around inside.

The appearance of a familiar face at least shook some of the paralyzing fear out of him; enough of think somewhat without being overwhelmed with panic, at least. But still, there was nothing good about this situation. Maybe if he could somehow reason with Coach Mercer to let them go, but with that said, Ed understood the determination to do anything for his brother all too well. He couldn't help but doubt his chances.

He watched with apprehension as the stranger poked around his phone. The man paused, looked confused for a second, then showed the screen to the older brother, who glanced at it somberly and pointed at something. As the younger pulled it back to continue, the coach turned away and sat down at the table with a heavy sigh and slackened shoulders, head bowed to avoid looking at the two kids.

After a moment, the kidnapper rose the phone to his ear and waited, nervously tapping his foot. Several beats passed in silence, then cleared his throat. "Not quiet," he started in response to an unknown question from the other end of the line. "We have your sons. Bring five million cens to the location I'm about to send you. No military buddies, no alchemy, no tricks." He paused and knelt down a little too close to Ed and Al again. "If you don't follow these demands to the letter, your kids might get hurt." Without warning, he reached out his free hand to grab Ed's bangs and tugged hard enough to make him gasp from surprised pain into the phone's speaker, much to his immediate chagrin. He knew in an instant who was on the other end of the line.

"Hey!" Al cried out from behind him. The kidnapper let go and stepped back before either could try to fight back. Meanwhile, the coach cursed under his breath.

Again, the man addressed the phone. "You have one hour," he said without allowing more than a beat to pass, then hung up. Once the call had ended, he quickly typed something into it and put the stolen phone back into his pocket. With a heavy breath, he went to lean against one of the kitchenette's counters.

Edward gingerly combed his hand through his bangs, scowling as the mild pain lingered for a moment. "That was a bad idea," he warned, looking at them both as he remained positioned protectively in front of Al. "Our dad is going to be mad."

* * *

Roy sat motionless as his desk with his phone still held up to his head, blankly listening to the repetitive, empty dial tone. His ears were ringing as his heart frantically pumped blood, driven by a raging burst of adrenaline. For a moment, his vision was fogged by static as his brain was somehow both racing and frozen in a sheet of chilling ice all at the same time.

He spared a moment to make sure he was breathing as his thoughts began to organize somewhat. He slowly lowered his phone and stood from his desk, keeping his open palms on the cool oak surface for a moment, almost as if he wanted to give himself a moment to double check that this all wasn't a strange dream.

Then with a sharp exhale, his eyes narrowed and he walked out of his office, prepared to bring down hell on the people who dared to touch his kids.

* * *

**Remember when this was just a cute domestic fluff fic? Yeah, I have no self control... As things are, I still plan for there to be one more chapter, but we'll see how long it will end up being. And how long it will take to write. ;u;**

**Thanks for showing so much support, everyone! I appreciate all of you!**


	14. Chapter 14

Roy was a little offended.

To be precise, he was furious and terrified and just about every emotion in between. But on top of all of that, he was also offended.

He had endured both nightmares and meaningless passing thoughts regarding what he would do if his kids somehow ended up in a potentially life-threatening situation such as getting kidnapped. He had spent quiet nights staring at his ceiling fan, running through the steps of all of his possible and usually fiery responses; such thoughts were unavoidable in his line of work. But while he was occupied by these paranoid trains of thought, he was always sure to _never_ risk underestimating the hypothetical scumbag who unwisely decided to touch the two children.

Perhaps he went overboard before, but Roy at least felt prepared for any situation to arise.

It was just his luck that when such a thing actually did happen, it was done in such an amateurish fashion that he had to toss all of his elaborate pre-planning out the window.

He could understand shooting for a high ransom. But to make such an outrageous demand as _five million _cens and then to hang up without allowing him a word? If they didn't want Roy to barter for a lower price that he was capable of achieving, they could have asked for something more reasonable from the beginning. Perhaps they expected his connection to the military to allow him access to a stockpile of money in case of emergencies. Either way, it was a sloppy.

Plus, the kidnapper did a poor job at masking his nervousness over the phone, not to mention how Roy didn't even need to see to tell how desperate the guy was. Someone who was less trained might have missed it, but damn it, if they were going to demand a ransom from a colonel in the military, they should have at least been more prepared!

Hence the tinge of offence he couldn't help but feel.

But despite everything, he still could not risk underestimating the kidnappers. It was their desperation that made them dangerous. If he was dealing with professionals, he would have considered paying a ransom and hunting them down afterwards, certain that the boys would befall no harm.

But he couldn't know that when it came to these sorry armatures. He expected them to be impulsive and rash and do everything incorrectly in the worst kinds of ways. He refused to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Roy was currently sitting in the backseat of a car with his arms folded and eyes firmly set glaring at the back of Hawkeye's seat as she drove, only mildly eased with the knowledge that the rest of his team was following in a second car slightly further back. Plus, he had Hughes on standby, should the worst happen. It was unlikely that he would have to, but he didn't want to get the military immediately involved if he could help it. His team didn't count. They weren't trailing behind him as subordinates, but as friends and colleagues who cared for the two boys who had fallen into this mess.

Granted, most of them have yet to officially meet the blonds, but that hardly mattered. Them simply being Roy's sons was more than enough reason for any of them to act without hesitation. Not a single one of them batted an eye when he burst into the outer office with a serious expression, declaring that they were leaving.

He was lucky to have them. Roy considered doing something after all of this was over; taking them out to drinks maybe. But then again, it would be more interesting if Ed and Al could come. Some place family friendly, then…

Roy would have laughed at himself for allowing his interests to change so drastically after adopting them, if only his heart wasn't beating so dangerously against his ribcage. But distracting himself with such idle thoughts was the only way to keep himself sane during the unbearable drive to the designated location.

He employed the same tactic during the war.

Not like that thought comforted him in the slightest.

He remembered sitting in the back of an armored truck, gazing blankly out through the bulletproof windows. The violent desert winds slapped against the outer shell and whistling through the cracks, as he distracted and detached himself with such mindless thoughts such as what he would make for dinner that night, and whether or not he should mow the lawn the next morning; the simplicities that he missed.

Back then, all he had to do was snap his fingers when told and tune the rest out. He didn't need to truly be present at all times. The anxiety that pulled in his stomach now felt about the same as how it did then, as did the painful headache that pulsed in his skull. Roy never thought he would find himself in a situation that was as stressful and taxing as the war, but he was proven wrong the moment his kids were threatened. Turning that defense mechanism back on was so tempting. But now, he lacked the luxury. He had to be in the moment. He had to save them.

His only saving grace was knowing that it would all be over soon enough. He was going to rescue his boys, and torch those who chose to hurt them. It would be swift and easy, and then they would all go get ice cream afterwards.

Roy pondered what flavor and toppings to get for the remainder of the drive.

* * *

Edward passively rubbed at his head for a moment, applying slight pressure to the dull pang that remained after getting his hair so suddenly tugged on by their kidnapper. He remained positioned protectively in front of Alphonse as they crouched in the corner of the drab trailer home but hadn't said a word since giving the other pair of brothers the warning.

The kidnapper seemed a little too high-strung for Ed's liking. He didn't think he was in much of a position to work them up even further, despite how much he wanted to do or say _something. _Besides, if Roy was on his way, then they had nothing more to worry about, right? He found some comfort in thinking that, but it did little to ease the tension of the situation. Even though their attention wasn't on him and Al, even though it didn't seem like there was any intent to hurt them, Edward was physically incapable of calming himself down. Adrenaline had not stopped pumping through his veins with every heartbeat; it was not a particularly easing constant, but at least it kept him from lowering his guard. It was better to be safe than sorry. But with that said, he didn't feel especially confident in his own ability to do something should the situation call for it.

The sense of uselessness was stifling. The fact that Al hadn't been hurt yet was the only thing keeping him from feeling like a complete failure of a brother. He tried not to think about all of the other things he could have done differently to avoid ending up where they had. Edward knew he did one thing right at least, and that was choosing to stay between the kidnappers and his brother. He would take anything they threw at him as long as Alphonse was safe.

Al certainly wasn't too happy about it, however. Edward felt him tense behind him when his bangs were pulled on, like he was just barely holding himself back from getting up and doing… something. They were both painfully aware that acting out what not the best course of action at the moment. They just had to sit back and watch as the adults decided what happened to them.

They very thought of it caused Edward to scowl.

It was nothing new. They had spent so much of their childhood just being tossed around in the rapidly moving whirlpool that was the adult world. They finally got some respite when Roy adopted them, but now they had been thrown right back into the water.

The coach and his brother shared a few hushed words on the other end of the trailer home for the next few moments. It looked to have been an argument, which wasn't surprising considering how much at odds the two begrudgingly seemed to be. By the end of it, the kidnapper grumbled something under his breath and retreated to the far end of the trailer to look out the blinds impatiently, while Coach Mercer collapsed back into the seat that he occupied earlier, looking no less stressed than he was when he first stepped inside.

Edward watched the two as several seconds passed in silence.

Part of his mind was still reeling back from the discovery that their soccer coach turned out to be involved in their kidnapping. It was just so incredibly _wrong._ Simply trying to make sense of it all made his chest tighten uncomfortably. Edward didn't want to think about it; he didn't want to acknowledge that another part of their lives had been uprooted by an adult that they were tricked into trusting. Their father leaving them and Mom behind, almost everyone who worked at the orphanage, and now even their coach. Time and time again, their efforts to build connections were ruined. Each new path their lives took went downhill almost immediately because of selfish people.

The two brothers always managed to push on, however. They had each other, and that was always enough. Now, they also had Roy.

A devious little voice returned to the back of Ed's head after weeks of silence, again wondering if even Roy would let them down at some point, like everyone else. No one was perfect. It was bound to happen eventually.

He promptly told that voice to shut up. He and Al never asked for perfection; only someone to trust. And Roy wanted to be that person. They could trust him. He would get them out of this.

But even so, Edward didn't like the idea of sitting on his hands and waiting for it to happen. He needed answers.

The older brother could almost sense Al's disapproval radiating from behind him as he picked up on what the older brother was thinking, thanks to their supposed brotherly telepathy.

He ignored it and cleared his throat. "Hey," he said, somewhat quietly. The coach looked at him with obvious reluctance. He mustered up the little amount of courage that he still managed to cling to and targeted the man with something that resembled a glare. "The least you could do is tell us why this is happening."

Andrew Mercer gave his own younger brother a cursory glance as if to see if he was paying attention, then sighed deeply. "My brother," he started pointedly, as if intentionally reminding himself not to give the man's name away, "worked in the warehouse district. They were paid horribly there and that's when the protests started. But once it turned into riots, even those who weren't involved were not able to keep working safely. He got into debt and-" he paused as if considering how much he wanted to say. "-and got desperate enough to join the rioters in hopes of ending it all quickly. But then the others got arrested and they're still looking for everyone else, so… long story short, he needed to quickly get enough money to leave town."

"So, he asked you to help kidnap us?" Edward growled.

The coach averted his gaze. At least he had enough shame to look regretful. "He asked me to keep an eye out for parents who would be willing to pay… I didn't like it, of course," he added on quickly as if in an attempt to defend his involvement. "I was going to tell him to stay away from you two, but he gets impulsive when he panics. We didn't intent to hurt anyone. And with how the economy is right now, and since coaching doesn't pay very well…" Andrew trailed off, rubbing the back of his head for a moment as he looked down at the floor.

"As if I care about the goddamn economy or how much you get paid," Edward muttered bitterly. He couldn't help but think back to all the times that he offered them rides and asked them about what Roy did for a living. The entire time, he was just seeing if they would make decent hostages. Hell, maybe they would have been whisked away somewhere if they ever agreed to get inside his car. The thought sent shivers down Edward's spine that he fought to suppress. "Did you ever even care? About any of us?"

"I'm not heartless, Edward," the coach said with a frown as he again looked away in discomfort. "I knew this was a bad idea; I should have discouraged it more. But… it hardly matters now."

"It could," Ed suggested, careful to keep his hopes from rising too high by trying. He continued in a whisper. "You can still fix this and let us go."

The man smiled wryly. "It's too late for that."

"Shit." All eyes fell on the kidnapper on the far end of the trailer as he squinted through the blinds to look out at the dirt lot, then glanced over to the coach. "He's here. What now?"

Edward stopped breathing for a moment.

The coach stood up and looked through the window as well. "Don't ask me. You came here with a plan, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he breathed forcibly, then said again in a quieter tone: "Yeah. Okay. We'll keep them here till we have the money. Gotta be sure that he's not going to pull anything." With that said, the kidnapper took a deep breath and opened the door, letting the orange rays of the setting sun dip inside for a moment before it was closed again behind him. Meanwhile, the coach continued to watch through the window, sparing the two kids no more than a quick glance.

Ed tried in vain to stretch from his seat on the floor in hopes of catching a glimpse of Roy through the window, but his attempt was clearly a wasted effort. All he could see from where he was were the passing clouds that slowly moved across the sky as their hues gradated from the light of the sinking sun. He could only listen for a reaction. But as things were, the most he could hear was the occasional muffle that indicated a voice, but not nearly enough to even tell who was speaking.

Al nudged him.

Edward jumped slightly and looked over his shoulder to his brother, who shifted to the side after a cautious pause. Behind him, scratched into the old vinyl panels was a transmutation circle. He almost gasped at the sight as his eyes scanned the array to decipher its purpose. It was reminiscent of the few times they managed to experiment while at the orphanage; incredible simple and made only to shift the matter outward. He was quickly able to tell that Al's intent was to make a hole in the corner and slip out without being seen and saving Roy from having to pay a ransom for them.

But there was a hint of worry on his brother's expression. He was missing the compound for the wall.

Which Ed acknowledged after a moment was very understandable, considering it wasn't exactly common for two kids to know what trailer home walls were made out of.

Edward shrugged nervously.

Alphonse shrugged back.

Ed looked back to confirm that they were still not being watched, then looked down at the circle again. They had to at least _try _to figure it out.

He quietly ran a hand over the wall. They didn't have much time, or many chances. His mind raced back to all of the texts they've read regarding commonly used materials and their compositions.

Limestone? Calcite?

_No, no, no, none of those were right!_

Selenite?

_No, that wasn't right either... Think, damn it!_ _What else?!_

He knew it. He had been trying to learn as much as he could since finding out what alchemy was. He should be able to know what a trailer home was made out of! If he had his phone, he could have just looked it up. Hell, he was certain Roy had said it when he was listing some off just a few days ago.

He gently tapped a finger against the material. With the ugly vinyl panels in the way, he didn't have much to go off it. And it wasn't like he could breaking it apart without drawing attention. He shouldn't have to need to in the first place!

What was plaster made of?

And then it hit him like a sack of bricks being slung at his head.

He gave another quick look around the trailer and shifted as quietly and urgently as possible to get closer to the circle as Al shifted aside to give him room and handing him a bent paperclip. He accepted it with a mildly amused but nervous smile.

Gypsum was composed of calcium sulfate which, in the correct hydration state, was used to make plaster.

He scratched in the formula with the paperclip, hands shaking slightly from the toxic mix of fear and adrenaline. Hopefully, transmuting the plaster would be able to force open the vinyl as well. Al seemed to think it would, so that was good enough for Ed.

He leaned back and gave the circle another look, then turned his eyes on his brother. Alphonse gave him a quick, confident nod, trusting that he got it right.

Edward nodded back, breathed, and placed his hands against the circle.

* * *

Roy stepped out of the car half a block away from the abandoned construction lot that the address sent him to. With a brief order to Hawkeye to keep an eye out, he approached the lot, knowing she would relay his terse statement to the others when they got into position.

The dying light of the setting sun stretched over area, casting long beams of shadows from the broken-down chain-link fences that were scattered about. The drab trailer home was easy enough to spot when he knew what he was looking for, but he was easily able to understand how anyone passing by could miss it. It wasn't connected to a car, but he was sure they had one somewhere nearby for their hasty getaway.

With an assuring tug on his uniform jacket, he stepped into the dusty lot, eyes set on the trailer where his kids were being held.

_Keep yourself in check, Mustang_, he reminded himself bitterly. It would be unfortunate if he had to pay the city for property damage if he ended up setting some of the leftover items scattered around on fire.

People eagerly pointed fingers at him whenever something or someone endured any kind of fire damage. Especially when he was actually present, which, in that case, tended to be apt.

Of course, if something happened to Ed and Al, he would do a lot worse than scorch some walls.

Roy stopped a few meters away from the trailer and looked it over with narrowed eyes and a frown firmly in place, fairly certain that he would not have to wait there long.

He was right.

The door squeaked open and a single figure slipped out, quickly closing it behind him. He took the two steep steps down to the dusty ground and paused there. He wore a dark jacket with a hood that obscured most of his face in harsh shadows. His hands were in his pockets, no doubt in an attempt to hide his nerves. It was difficult to tell from where he stood, but Roy guessed the guy to be in his early thirties or late twenties.

"Where's the money?" he demanded hastily.

"Where are my kids?" he growled back in return. He didn't plan on saying that. It just slipped out.

"You'll get them back once I get the money."

Unsurprised by the response, Roy exhaled wearily. "I don't have that much cash, and the banks are closed. I can do a cheque or pay digitally." The banks were still open when he got the call, but he wasn't about to mention that. Just as he wasn't going to mention how that wouldn't be an issue if they stayed on the phone long enough to discuss such basic details. Not like he intended on paying the bastard anyway, but the lack of thought was irritating.

The others should have been getting into position by then.

The kidnapper visibly hesitated; even from where Roy stood, he could clearly see the frown during the few beats of silence that passed between them.

"I'm no idiot," he grumbled after the moment passed. "That's not going to work."

Another uncomfortable few seconds ticked by in silence as the two stared at each other in something of a stalemate. He was sure the kidnapper was beginning to panic as he felt his shabby little plan crumble in his hands.

Roy had the whole conversation planned out, but he let it drag on for a second. _Let him worry._

Then when he was satisfied, he feigned a nervous expression, then attempted to throw a hint of panicked desperation into his tone, as unfamiliar as the feeling was to him. Even now, he felt more focused and calculating than ever.

"Well then… um, if you could wait, I could probably call some people and gather up the cash."

"That's what this past hour was for!" the man snapped, then quickly simmered as he squeezed the bridge of his nose, struggling under the pressure of the situation.

The colonel smirked inwardly, knowing the man had no choice but to agree.

"Fine," he relented, just as expected. "Fine. But I'll be watching. And don't forget that my partner is still with your kids in case you try anything. No tricks."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Roy was about to slowly reach into his pocket for his phone, but he paused and blinked. Something just happened. Something attracted his attention away from the man, but it disappeared before he could properly see what it was.

He looked around for a moment as he reminded himself to continue reaching for his phone but turning the movement onto autopilot.

And then he saw it.

From the back of the trailer home, he saw a new shadow appear and stretch across the lot. And then another. They moved, grew steadily longer, and Roy's heart jumped into his throat. Had it not been thanks to his years of training, he would have chocked and gaped when he saw the two blonds peer around the edge of the trailer home, golden eyes immediately falling on him.

A surge of pride burst in his chest that he had to fight to keep from turning into a wide grin. They had escaped! They must have used alchemy to get themselves out, and it was the flash from the reaction that originally caught his attention.

But before he could celebrate, he had to deal with the loud, blaring alarm that was warning him to give nothing away. Plus, what happened to the person who was watching them?

The series of events that followed all passed so rapidly that it felt like it should have been happening in slow motion as his brain was forced to process so much.

The two were edging around the side of the trailer, looking as if they intended to make a dash for him, and nothing short of him telling them to stop would slow them down. But before he could fully consider their actions, the door of the trailer swung open, nearly grazing the kidnapper, and another person appeared.

Andrew Mercer of all people urgently announced "they got out!", causing his friend to swivel to face him and spotting the two kids in their attempt to sneak by in the process.

The unexpected pang of recognition pounded Roy's head and probably would have morphed into a mild headache, had be bene given just another second to confirm that he knew the man. It was just so unfathomable and nonsensical that he would be there, after all.

But he was not given that extra second.

The moment the kidnapper saw the two boys, he lunged forward in a last-ditch attempt to keep the entire operation from failing. The kids saw this and took steps to break into a sprint, but he was already too close. He managed to grab into Al's wrist and pulled him back as his other arm reached for something in his pocket. Roy saw a shining glint of metal. Edward stumbled against his own momentum as terror took over his expression.

Roy acted without thought. Years of war experience were triggered in that split second, and he had no memory of actually slipping on the ignition glove that had been stowed away in his pocket along with his phone.

Before he could blink, or breath, and even before his heart could take another beat, his hand was up in the air and his fingers moved mechanically, snapping in the coarse material and sending a thin, precise bolt of energy through the air, converting the gasses and exploding in a condensed area on the assailants arm.

His sleeve lit up in flames and he exclaimed and flailed back, dropping both a switchblade and Al's wrist in his panic he instinctually floundered to put out the flame. Meanwhile, Coach Mercer (why the hell was he here?) watched in horror from the doorway.

When Alphonse was released, he stumbled but was pulled back into a run by his brother. The two charged to Roy is a frantic run and did not stop until they were safely behind him and peeking out from the protective wall that was their father, breathing gaspishly.

Suddenly having them so close and _safe _eased the suffocating weight that had hooked itself onto his lungs since he got the phone call. He wanted nothing more pull them into a hug, but Roy held himself back, keeping his eyes firmly on the two.

The fire was successfully put out, but before he could consider fleeing the scene, the perimeter of the area became surrounded by his team as they began to close in.

"Damn it," the kidnapper spat under his breath as he took a step back and began to frantically look around for an escape route. Sadly for him, there was none. Meanwhile, Mercer seemed to have accepted the situation, giving Roy no choice but to accept that he was involved on the whole thing.

The reality of it sunk in slowly and lethargically, as if the excitement of the past few seconds drained Roy of his ability to spare any more shock.

"Don't move," he barked to them both regardless of the confusion that swam around in his head. His words were further enforced when his subordinates approached with their weapons drawn.

"Whoa," Edward breathed from his side once the danger seemed to have been quelled. "You called the cavalry out just for us? It's almost like you _like _us or something." He spoke with a grin in an attempt to ease the tension with heart hearted humor.

Roy was thankful for it; the two handled however nervous they were feeling well, with only their subtle shaking giving it away. But he didn't have a snarky retort for him. Instead, Roy knelt down to their level and pulled them both into a tight hug and allowed the tension in his chest and his shoulders to roll out with a deep exhale when they both immediately returned the gesture.

"I'm so glad you two are okay," he heard himself say. "I'm sorry I didn't see it coming. I-"

"God, skip that part for once," Edward cut in with a shaky laugh, voice muffled slightly from Roy's jacket.

"Yeah," Al added, though there was less forced amusement in his voice. He sounded sullen, but rightfully so, after nearly having a knife drawn on him and enduring everything prior to it. "Thank you for rescuing us," he added in a softer, calmer voice. Roy could hear the small smile.

"Of course. If you two are ever in danger again, I'll always come running," he declared quietly as he allowed a moment to rest his chin on their heads. He wanted to enjoy the moment for as long as possible; enjoy the knowledge that _no one _could hurt them as long as he was around.

Which is exactly what he did.

At least until Edward pulled away and looked up at him with a huge grin. "And your alchemy! That was so cool!"

"Yeah!" Alphonse gasped in response as if he had just been reminded of the fact. "We had never seen you use it before, besides burning your junk mail."

"You gotta teach us that!" Edward announced excitedly, hands balled into fists.

Without thought, Roy barked out a quick, incredulous laugh. "No way in hell."

The two pouted for a moment, but he knew neither of them were surprised.

"And what about your alchemy? That was amazing," he said warmly.

Edward scoffed passively. "It wasn't _amazing. _We just made a hole in the wall."

"No, it was," he insisted as he put a hand on both of their shoulders. "In a tense situation, you were able to think clearly enough to get yourselves out. And I'm very proud of you both."

The kid's faces reddened from the praise and Roy was moments away from pulling them into another grateful hug. But the sound of nearing footfalls made him pause.

The two kidnappers, Andrew and his friend, had been handcuffed and were being guided forward. The two were quite a contrasting pair; one looking like he wanted to wrestle his way out, while the other only looked remorseful and scared.

"We'll take them away now, sir," Hawkeye declared as she safely holstered her gun.

Roy rose to his feet and turned to face them all fully, eyes gliding over younger looking of the two after noticing with a hint of satisfaction that his arm was burned, and falling on the coach, who's eyes darted to the ground in response.

"Why?" he asked coldly as no one else made a sound. The sun had just about fully set by then.

The man took a breath and composed himself into something that was at least a _little _more dignified. "Same as anyone else's reason: money." But even as he answered, it sounded forced, like even he wasn't fully convinced.

"We trusted you."

He flinched slightly but recovered quickly. "I know. I truly didn't want it to go this way. But that doesn't mean much now, does it?"

"No, it doesn't."

Tense silence passed between them. Roy still didn't understand, but he felt like asking questions was futile.

"I want the full report," he said at last to Hawkeye without taking his cold, glaring eyes off of the coach.

"Yes sir."

With that said, his subordinates continued to guide them away. Roy watched them go, not feeling fully satisfied just yet. He was still furious at them; furious that that man would harm his kids like that. But he supposed he would have to wait until the trial.

He hoped this wasn't going to worsen the trust issues that the two probably already had.

"You should take them home," she added once the others disappeared around the corner. "Get some rest."

"We'll do that" he agreed with a nod, then turned to face the boys again. "You two sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," Ed said with a calmer, more sincere smile as he looked at his brother for conformation, who smiled the same way with a nod. "Yeah, we're good."

"Tell you what," Roy started as the idea sprung to mind. "I'll take tomorrow off work and we can keep going over some of my old alchemy notes."

Unsurprisngly, the two lit up and agreed in an instant.

With that decided, the three of them began the short walk back to his car.

"Oh and uh… hey Dad."

"Yes, A-" Roy caught himself, realizing with a start that it was Ed who spoke. "-Ed?"

"Let's go get some ice cream too."

Roy barely contained his smile. "Good idea."

* * *

**Ahhhhh sorry this took so long! Life and school has really been keeping me busy! Plus, I really didn't want to rush this one.  
But anyway, we finally made it! Huge thanks to everyone who commented and read and showed their support! I was so happy with the reaction I got from this fic, especially since I lack of experience with modern AUs.**

**As for whatever comes next, I gotta focus on school and all that for the time being, but I do have another fic in mind already. It'll probably take me a while to get anything out though. But eh, I'll be around.**

**Thanks for everything, my dudes. :D**


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